India secured their place in Phase 2 of the FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup 2026 with a thrilling 5-3 victory over arch-rivals Pakistan in their final Pool D match at the Wagener Stadium in Amstelveen on Wednesday.
Harmanpreet Singh and Abhishek scored twice each, while Hardik Singh added another as India held off a spirited Pakistan fightback to finish the opening phase with six points.
The result was particularly significant for India after England had beaten Wales 8-2 earlier in the day. That result meant India needed only a draw against Pakistan to progress, while Pakistan had to win to keep their campaign alive. India, however, made sure of qualification with a victory.
India started the contest on the front foot and quickly established control. Harmanpreet opened the scoring from a penalty corner before Abhishek added a second to put India in a strong position.
Pakistan responded to keep the contest alive, but India continued to find openings in attack. Harmanpreet struck again from a set piece, while Abhishek added his second before the interval as India went into half-time with a 4-2 advantage.
Hardik Singh then extended India’s lead in the third quarter, converting a penalty stroke to make it 5-2.
Pakistan refused to surrender. Hannan Shahid scored his second goal of the match in the final quarter to reduce the deficit to 5-3 and briefly raise hopes of a dramatic comeback.
India were made to work hard in the closing stages after Aditya Lalage was shown a yellow card, leaving them with 10 players. Pakistan pushed forward but could not find another goal as India successfully protected their advantage.
The win completes a mixed opening phase for India. They began their campaign with a 3-1 victory over Wales before suffering a 2-4 defeat to England. The win over Pakistan takes India through to the next stage with momentum from one of the tournament’s biggest rivalry games.
