Amstelveen. The Indian men’s hockey team kept itself in the race for the semi-finals by defeating Pakistan 5-3 in their last match of Pool D of the FIH Hockey World Cup 2026.
With this win, India gained six points and entered the next round by finishing second in Pool D. England topped the pool by winning all three matches, while Pakistan and Wales will have to play in the classification stage.
For India, captain Harmanpreet Singh scored two goals, while Abhishek also scored two goals. Hardik Singh scored a goal. For Pakistan, Hannan Shahid scored two goals and Sufiyan Khan scored one goal.
India showed aggressive attitude from the beginning and continuously attacked from the left end. India got a penalty corner in the fifth minute.
Harmanpreet’s first drag-flick hit Rusher’s leg, after which a penalty corner was awarded again. The captain made no mistake this time and sent the ball to the left side of goalkeeper Ali Raza to give India a 1-0 lead.
India doubled its lead in the 11th minute. Harmanpreet’s aerial pass was received by Abhishek and his effort deflected off Pakistan defenders and went into the goal.
In the second quarter, India scored the third goal in the 21st minute. At the penalty corner, Harmanpreet changed the strategy and gave the ball to Rajinder. His shot was stopped by the goalkeeper, but on the rebound, Harmanpreet took possession of the ball and scored a brilliant goal.
Pakistan made a comeback in the very next minute. Pakistan attacked after snatching the ball from Vivek Sagar Prasad in midfield. The Indian goalkeeper stopped Moeen Shakeel’s attempt, but Hannan Shahid scored on the rebound to make the score 1-3.
India did not waste much time and in the 24th minute, Abhishek scored a brilliant goal and increased the lead to 4-1. Soon after, Pakistan got a penalty corner and Sufiyan Khan scored to make the difference 4-2. Both teams scored two goals each in the second quarter.
In the third quarter, India again took a lead of three goals in the 35th minute. India got a penalty stroke when Aditya was pushed inside the circle, which Hardik Singh easily converted to make the score 5-2.
Pakistan did not give up and in the 46th minute, Hannan Shahid took advantage of India’s midfield mistake and scored his second goal to make the score 5-3.
In the last quarter, Pakistan tried to create continuous pressure and even won a penalty corner in the 58th minute, but its strategy was not successful. India maintained their composure in the final minutes and secured a resounding 5-3 win.
With this win, India kept its hopes of the semi-finals alive by securing second place in Pool D. England advanced as pool winners, while Pakistan and Wales will now play in the classification stage.