AMSTELVEEN, Netherlands: India beat Pakistan 5-3 in Pakistan-India hockey at Wagener Hockey Stadium, eliminating Pakistan from the FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup 2026.
Pakistan needed a victory in the Group D match to reach the knockout stage. Instead, India secured their second tournament win and advanced.
India captain Harmanpreet Singh opened the scoring from a penalty corner. Abhishek then doubled the lead before the end of the first quarter.
Harmanpreet struck again in the second quarter to make it 3-0. Hannan Shahid pulled one back for Pakistan, but Abhishek soon restored India’s three-goal advantage.
Sufyan converted Pakistan’s first penalty corner before halftime, reducing India’s lead to 4-2. India then scored from a penalty stroke in the third quarter.
Read: Pakistan vs India Hockey Clash Set for World Cup Showdown
Hannan added his second goal in the final quarter, but Pakistan could not close the gap. Pakistan finished the group stage with one point from three matches.
They had earlier lost 4-1 to England and drawn 3-3 with Wales. Former Pakistan captain and Olympian Hanif Khan said Pakistan’s poor first quarter proved costly.
He also called for stronger preparations after the team’s World Cup return following an eight-year absence.
