Favourites deliver as World Cup Qualifiers kick off in Ismailia

There were no major surprises on the opening day of the men’s FIH Hockey World Cup Qualifiers in Ismailia, Egypt as Malaysia, Pakistan, England and Egypt all racked up important wins.

The hosts were pushed all the way by the United States, and Pakistan edged out the Chinese in a fixture that has been evenly contested in recent years. Malaysia and England powered through their matches.

(Men’s) Malaysia 6 – 1 Austria

Malaysia had too much pace and energy for Austria as they stormed to a 6-1 win.

The Austrians had a promising start when Fülöp Losonci fired them ahead from the penalty spot in the 3^rd minute. Malaysia grew into the game though, and by the start of the second quarter, they were in full control, pressing aggressively and looking dangerous around the Austrian circle. They squandered several penalty corners before striking twice in the 24th minute. Azrai Abu Kamal got ahead of his marker to complete a clinical deflection in front of goal, and Shello Silverius’s strike trickled across the line after taking two touches off defenders. Malaysia missed a penalty stroke just before half-time and went in leading 2-1.

It was all Malaysia in the second half. Norsyafiq Sumantri got the final touch from a scrappy penalty corner in the 34^th, and Kamal tapped in to complete his brace after Akhimullah Anuar eliminated the keeper with an unselfish pass. Anuar pounced on a loose ball at the back post for his goal, and Marhan Jalil slapped in a recycled penalty corner to complete the scoring in the 52^nd minute.

Faizal Saari was named player of the match for Malaysia and said: “Credit to the boys, we collected the 3 points today… It doesn’t matter if we are down one or two-zero, we just play a normal game, and we come back from 1-0 to 6-1.”

(Men’s) Pakistan 5 – 4 China

Pakistan opened their campaign with a hard-fought 5-4 win over China after threatening to run away with the result at the halfway mark.

Pakistan created better opportunities in a high-paced opening quarter and Sufyan Khan fired them ahead in the 8^th minute, beating the keeper for pure pace with a drag flick. China hit back in the 16^th minute, Shihao Du’s drag flick deflecting horribly off the first wave. Ali Raza then made a good double save for Pakistan before his team got upfield to score two quick goals. First, Waheed Rana worked hard across the circle and pounced on a loose ball for a neat finish in the 20^th minute. Muhammad Ammad tapped in a minute later after some brilliant aerial skills from Ahmad Nadeem along the baseline, and Pakistan led 3-1 at the break.

Pakistan seemed to be cruising to victory when Abu Mahmood nailed a huge drag flick in the 35^th minute to go 4-1 up. But China raised their energy to assert some control. They struck twice in quick succession, Du completing his brace with a sizzling drag flick in the 39^th, and Quyang Guan adding a penalty corner variation in the 42^nd minute. Waleed Rana edged Pakistan two ahead within a minute, but Xiaojia Zhang’s pass across goal deflected in off a defender in the 49^th minute to set up a tense finale. Pakistan came closest to scoring when they rattled the crossbar from a PC with two minutes remaining, and they held on for the three points.

The player of the match was awarded to Pakistan’s Ammad Butt who said: “I’m very disappointed in the way we played. The first two quarters, very good, but after that, third and fourth, we had some patches. We have to improve in our midfield, and our attack and PC short corner defence as well. By the way, I’m really happy because of the three points.”

(Men’s) England 5 – 0 Japan

England scored five high-quality goals as they cruised to a 5-0 win over Japan.

It took the English some time to settle down, but two goals from acute angles towards the end of the first quarter saw them on their way. Thomas Sorsby’s opener was a sensational slap into the top corner from an acute angle. Sam Ward went even tighter, using his physical strength to drive along the baseline before slapping in with no angle to work with. Henry Croft added a tomahawk in the 17^th minute, carrying the ball well into the circle after some quick passing from a free hit. Other than a couple of turnovers late in the half, England were in full control as they led 3-0 at half-time.

Sorsby’s second goal came from a piece of individual brilliance as he carried the ball into the circle and tomahawked it in at the back post in the 36^th minute. Croft added an excellent deflection from Jacob Payton’s feed off the baseline in the 44^th, and England went on to manage the game through to the final whistle. Japan did create some clear chances and earned a couple of penalty corners, but they couldn’t execute in the circle when it mattered.

England’s Thomas Sorsby was named the player of the match and said: “Japan are a very good team. We knew we had to prepare well, so a very professional start from us, really enjoyed the game, and hopefully some more of that to come.”

(Men’s) Egypt 3 – 1 United States

Hosts Egypt were made to work extremely hard as they came from behind to post a 3-1 win over the United States.

An action-packed first quarter saw the USA take the lead in the 6^th minute, Aki Kaeppeler launching his drag flick into the top right corner. Ahmed Elganaini equalised with a penalty stroke in the 10^th after the post-man was struck on the line defending a penalty corner. Goalkeeper Jonathan Klages then came off his line twice to shut Egypt out as they gained momentum before Hamada Atef eventually fired them ahead with a huge drag flick in the 22^nd minute. Mohamed Gamal raced off his line to block a shot and Egypt held a slender 2-1 lead at half-time.

Gamal pulled off a series of exceptional saves as the USA bossed a goalless third quarter. The Americans thought they had levelled matters in the 46^th minute, but the goal was overturned and a 10-minute yellow card issued on the umpire’s review for a collision with a defender in the build-up. Egypt initially struggled to make their numerical advantage count, but Ahmed Mohsen tapped in from an exquisite feed in the 52^nd minute to double their lead. The USA applied plenty of pressure towards the end of the match, but they couldn’t find another goal.

Ahmed Elganaini of Egypt was named as the player of the match and said: “So proud for my team. We all played very well today, and USA played very well… it was a tough game.”

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

Men’s FIH Hockey World Cup Qualifiers – 1 March 2026

Ismailia, Egypt (EGY)

Men

Result: Match 1 (M)

Malaysia 6 - 1 Austria

Player of the match: Faizal Saari (MAS)

Umpires: Sean Rapaport (RSA), Hideki Kinoshita (JPN), Jonas van'T Hek (NED-video)

Result: Match 2 (M)

Pakistan 5 - 4 China

Player of the match: Ammad Butt (PAK)

Umpires: Steve Rogers (AUS), Aziz Adimah (GHA), Annelize Rostron (RSA-video)