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Pakistan beat Japan 4-3 for first Hockey World Cup win in 16 years

By Sports Desk August 22, 2026 Sports
Pakistan

Pakistan secured its first Hockey World Cup victory in 16 years on Saturday, defeating Japan 4-3 in a classification match in the Netherlands.

The win came in the ninth-to-16th place classification round after Pakistan was eliminated from contention for the World Cup title following three matches without a victory in the opening stage.

Pakistan had fallen two goals behind at one point but produced a strong comeback to seal the win. Moin Shakeel captained the side in place of Abubakar, who missed the match because of an injury.

Rana Waheed scored twice for Pakistan, while Hammaduddin and Hannan Shahid scored one goal each.

The victory marked Pakistan’s first win at the ongoing World Cup and ended a 6,017-day wait for a World Cup victory. Pakistan’s previous World Cup win came in 2010, when it defeated Spain 2-1.

Pakistan, a four-time world champion, failed to qualify for the 2014 World Cup. It went winless at the 2018 tournament and failed to qualify for the 2023 edition before returning to the World Cup in 2026 after an eight-year absence.