India rout Pakistan at Hockey World Cup 2026 to qualify for second round

What the report says

India beat Pakistan 5-3 in a Pool D match at the Hockey World Cup in Amstelveen, Netherlands, on Wednesday, securing passage to the second round. Al Jazeera reported that India finished second in the group with six points, while England topped Pool D with nine points after three wins. Pakistan were eliminated.

The match was notable for its pace and for India playing much of the closing phase with 10 men. Captain Harmanpreet Singh opened the scoring early from a penalty corner, and Abhishek added two goals as India built a 4-2 halftime lead. Hardik Singh later converted a penalty stroke to make it 5-2 before Pakistan cut the deficit again through Hannan Shahid.

Pakistan stayed in touch but could not complete the comeback. India also had a video review denied and later lost Aditya Lalage to a yellow card, which left them short-handed in the final minutes. The result keeps India in contention for the semifinals and sets up a tougher second-round path that, according to Al Jazeera, could involve the Netherlands and either Argentina or New Zealand. As background, field hockey’s World Cup format uses pool-stage results to determine which teams advance, making this win decisive for India and fatal for Pakistan’s tournament hopes.