India edge Pakistan 5-3 at Wagener Stadium to reach second round of FIH Men's Hockey World Cup 2026
India beat Pakistan 5-3 at the Wagener Stadium in Amstelveen in Pool D of the FIH Men's Hockey World Cup 2026, a result that secured the Indian men's team's place in the tournament's second round. England finished top of Pool D and India progressed as the group runners-up.
India opened Pool D with a 3-1 victory over Wales, then lost 2-4 to England, before defeating Pakistan 5-3 in their final pool match; England topped the group with nine points after also beating Wales 8-2, while India finished second with six points from three matches. Pakistan drew 3-3 with Wales and ended Pool D with one point.
In the 5-3 win over Pakistan at Wagener Stadium, Harmanpreet Singh and Abhishek each scored twice for India. The match concluded India’s Pool D campaign and determined the second qualifying spot behind England.
India have been placed into Pool E for the second round, where they will join England, the Netherlands and the team that finishes second in Pool A. The Netherlands have already confirmed their place in the second round after winning their opening two Pool A matches and currently lead that group.
Argentina sit second in Pool A, ahead of New Zealand on goal difference; both Argentina and New Zealand have three points from two matches and will meet in the final Pool A encounter on Thursday in what the source describes as a virtual knockout tie to decide who joins England, Netherlands and India in Pool E.
England and the Netherlands will carry three points each from the pool stage into the second round, while India will carry no points because they lost to England in the Pool D phase. At the end of the second round only the top two teams from each second-round pool will advance to the semi-finals.
The top two finishers in Pool D—England and India—advanced to the next round, while Pakistan and Wales move into classification rounds for positional places. India will play the Netherlands and the Pool A qualifier in Pool E, with their pool-phase result against England counting in the second round.