India Overpower Pakistan 5-3 to Secure Second Round Spot at Hockey World Cup 2026

A 10-man India secured a hard-fought 5-3 victory over arch-rivals Pakistan at Wagener Stadium, advancing to the second round of the Hockey World Cup.

Played on Wednesday in Amstelveen, the Netherlands, the Pool D encounter kept eighth-ranked India in contention for the semifinals while officially eliminating Pakistan from the tournament.

India captain Harmanpreet Singh opened the scoring in the fourth minute via a penalty corner. Abhishek then doubled the lead in the 10th minute following a pass from Mandeep Singh. Harmanpreet struck again in the 20th minute from another penalty corner to make it 3-0, before Pakistan’s Hannan Shahid responded with a goal off a goalkeeper rebound.

Abhishek further extended India's advantage to 4-1 following a deflection off a Pakistan stick. However, Sufyan Khan narrowed the deficit to 4-2 before halftime with a powerful dragflick from a penalty corner.

Early in the third quarter, Hardik Singh scored from a penalty stroke to put India ahead 5-2. The period concluded with India holding a three-goal cushion, alongside green cards issued to Pakistan’s Zikriya Hayat and India’s Rajinder Singh.

Pakistan mounted a brief comeback at the start of the fourth quarter when Shahid netted his second in the 45th minute after Hardik lost possession in the midfield. India unsuccessfully challenged via a video review taken by Dilpreet Singh in the 53rd minute. Shortly after, Aditya Lalage received a yellow card in the 55th minute, forcing India to play with 10 men for the remainder of the match.

Despite being a player down, India successfully fended off Pakistan's late attacks to seal the win and book their place in the next stage. India currently sits second in Pool D with six points, following an earlier 3-1 victory against Wales.

Meanwhile, England secured the top spot in Pool D with a dominant 8-2 win over Wales earlier on Wednesday at Wagener Stadium, advancing to the semifinals with a perfect record of nine points from three matches. In the second round, England and India are set to face the Netherlands alongside either Argentina or New Zealand.