England and Pakistan secure semi-final spots in Ismailia

England and Pakistan both claimed decisive victories on the second day of the men’s FIH Hockey World Cup Qualifiers in Ismailia on Monday, so securing passage through to the semi-finals.

Pakistan came from behind twice to beat Malaysia 5-3 before England defeated hosts Egypt 3-0. That sees them currently topping their respective groups with one more round of group matches to come on Wednesday.

In the other matches of the day, Japan claimed their first points of the tournament with a comprehensive 4-0 victory over the USA, while Austria and China played to a 1-1 draw.

(Men’s) Pakistan 5 – 3 Malaysia

Pakistan came back from a two-goal deficit to complete a hard-fought 5-3 victory over Malaysia.

The Malaysians controlled large parts of the first quarter and found the breakthrough when Muhajir Abdu Rauf managed to push the ball through the keeper’s legs in the 12^th minute. With just over a minute remaining, Akhimullah Anuar rocketed another one into the roof of the net from a penalty corner to double the Malaysians’ lead. Pakistan then produced the perfect response just seconds later – Waheed Rana pulling one back with a superb deflection at the other end. The Pakistanis found the equaliser within seconds of the start of the second quarter. An excellent solo run finished with Zikriya Hayat popping the ball across goal, only for it to take a fortunate deflection off a Malaysian defender and trickle in for 2-2, which is how the score remained at half-time.

After a more controlled period of play from the Malaysians, Fitri Saari put his side back in front from a penalty stroke in the 40^th minute. And it was then a pivotal pass from Waheed Rana that allowed Ahmad Nadeem to tuck the ball in at the far post for Pakistan's equaliser with one second left on the clock in the third quarter. Andy Jeffrynus was struck on the head by the stick of Fayyaz Hamza, who was shown a 10-minute yellow card in the 49^th minute, but Pakistan took the lead for the first time in the match from a Sufyan Khan drag directly after the incident. The Malaysians pulled off their keeper with just over five and a half minutes to play, but it immediately cost them as a Pakistan counterattack saw Muhammad Ammad firing in their fifth to wrap up the comeback win.

Waheed Rana was named the player of the match and said: “It was a good team effort, and I would give credit to all my team to play such a wonderful game.”

(Men’s) Austria 1 – 1 China

Both Austria and China struggled to find their finishing touch in an even contest that resulted in a 1-1 draw.

With both sides having lost their opening matches a day earlier, caution dominated proceedings, resulting in a largely defensive contest with few clear-cut chances and little goalmouth action in the first half. The breakthrough finally came in the 27^th minute when Josef Winkler fed to Moritz Frey, who controlled well and then lifted the ball into the back of the net over the keeper’s shoulder to hand Austria a 1-0 lead, which they held at the half-time break.

China came back at them at the start of the third quarter with Benhai Chen firing in from a penalty corner in the 31^st minute. Adrian Fink had the chance to put the Austrians back in front with just over five minutes remaining in the third quarter, but, having done all the work in front of goal, he put his shot wide. With all to play for in the final quarter, neither side managed to dominate. While the Chinese probably shaded the overall scoring opportunities, with four penalty corners earned in the match compared with Austria’s two, ultimately the sides had to settle for a share of the points.

Austrian captain Benjamin Kölbl was named the player of the match and said: “We did a really good job today. We tried to defend everything, but we were not dangerous enough in the circle."

(Men’s) Japan 4 – 0 USA

Japan did well to bounce back from a five-goal loss at the hands of England a day earlier and claim a 4-0 victory over the USA.

The Japanese made an early statement, capitalising on their first opportunity when the ball found an unmarked Kazumasa Matsumoto in space and he fired home for a 1–0 lead. Clear chances were scarce for the Americans, whose defence came under sustained pressure from a series of Japanese penalty corners. They held firm to limit the damage, but in the 23^rd minute, a clever variation at another set piece ended with Koji Yamasaki applying the finishing touch to double the advantage. Five minutes later, Ryoma Ooka blasted in a ferocious strike from just inside the circle to make it 3–0, a commanding lead Japan carried into the half-time break.

The USA managed to stem the tide in a far more evenly contested third quarter. But they struggled with their penalty corner execution, meaning the score remained at 3-0 heading into the final period. After a relatively subdued third quarter, the Japanese looked livelier in the fourth. Kosei Kawabe came close to adding a fourth goal, only to be denied by the post. But he would not be frustrated for long. In the 56^th minute, he got his reward with a sharp first-time deflection that found the back of the net, to consolidate a comprehensive 4–0 victory.

Japan’s Kazumasa Matsumoto was named player of the match and said: “I was very happy to score the first goal, and we were very happy to win today’s game.”

(Men’s) Egypt 0 – 3 England

England controlled proceedings well as they posted a hard-fought 3-0 win over hosts Egypt.

The English dominated the stats throughout, enjoying long periods of possession and plenty of territorial advantage. Goalkeeper Mohamed Gamal made a series of excellent saves in the Egyptian goal as he led a defensive masterclass under continuous pressure. England survived a couple of dangerous penalty corners before Sam Ward fired them ahead in the 27^th minute, his drag flick deflecting off the first wave runner to beat the defence. Nick Bandurak made it 2-0 to England with a sizzling drag flick placed mere millimetres inside the left post.

The English continued to boss the third quarter, but there wasn’t much space to move with Egypt adopting a heavily defensive position to see off the 10-minute yellow card received late in the second quarter. Gamal remained vigorous in the defence of his goal throughout the second half before Tom Sorsby finally put the result beyond any doubt in the 57^th minute, cleaning up the scraps after the post-man saved the first shot from a penalty corner.

England’s Nick Bandurak was named as the player of the match and said: “We really had to work hard in that final third. They got numbers behind the ball, defended well, and they made life really tough. Every shot we had we felt was contested, so credit to them and the way they approached the game, and thankfully we got over the line in the end.”

To see the current standings in the FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 Qualifiers, click here.

Men’s FIH Hockey World Cup Qualifiers – 2 March 2026

Ismailia, Egypt (EGY)

Men

Result: Match 5 (M)

Pakistan 5 - 3 Malaysia

Player of the match: Waheed Rana (PAK)

Umpires: Jonas van't Hek (NED), Hideki Kinoshita (JPN), Raphaël Adrien (GER-video)

Result: Match 6 (M)

Austria 1 - 1 China

Player of the match: Benjamin Kölbl (AUT)

Umpires: Annelize Rostron (RSA), Timothy Sheahan (AUS), Irene Presenqui (ARG-video)