Sports | By Mashoof Siddiqi
AMSTELVEEN, Netherlands — Pakistan ended a 16-year wait for a victory at the FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup on Saturday, defeating Japan 4-3 in a pulsating classification match at the Wagener Stadium and finally giving the four-time world champions something to celebrate on their return to hockey’s biggest stage.
The Green Shirts entered the 9th-to-16th-place classification round after a difficult opening phase in Pool D. Pakistan had lost 4-1 to England, were beaten by arch-rivals India and managed a 3-3 draw against Wales, leaving them outside the title race. The Japan match therefore carried no possibility of restoring Pakistan’s championship challenge, but it offered something symbolically important: the opportunity to register the country’s first World Cup victory since 2010.
Saturday’s seven-goal contest delivered it. Pakistan edged Japan 4-3, securing their first win of the 2026 tournament and breaking a drought that stretched across their difficult recent World Cup history. The result also came in Pakistan’s first World Cup appearance since 2018 after the national side failed to qualify for the 2023 edition. Pakistan had booked its return to the tournament earlier this year — also by defeating Japan 4-3 in the World Cup qualifier in Egypt.
That coincidence gives Saturday’s result an unusual symmetry. Japan were the team Pakistan beat to return to the World Cup after eight years, and Japan have now become the team Pakistan defeated to end their 16-year World Cup victory drought. In March, Pakistan recovered from 3-1 down to defeat Japan 4-3 in the qualifying semifinal; five months later, the same scoreline has provided another important milestone.
Pakistan remain the most successful nation in Men’s Hockey World Cup history with four titles — 1971, 1978, 1982 and 1994 — but their modern record illustrates how dramatically the balance of international hockey has changed. The Green Shirts have not won the world championship for 32 years and their absence from the 2023 tournament underlined the decline of a country that once dominated the sport.
The Changer Angle: One Win Does Not Restore Pakistan Hockey — But It Breaks a Psychological Barrier
The significance of beating Japan should not be exaggerated: Pakistan are competing for classification positions rather than the World Cup trophy. But the result matters precisely because of where Pakistan hockey has come from. A nation with four world titles had reached the point where simply winning a World Cup match had become a 16-year milestone.
Pakistan’s 2026 campaign therefore tells two stories at once. The first is uncomfortable — the former powerhouse remains far from the level required to challenge the leading European and international teams consistently. The second is more encouraging: Pakistan qualified for the World Cup after eight years, returned to the global stage and have now finally won there again.
The next objective must be bigger than celebrating the end of a drought. Pakistan hockey’s real revival will be measured by whether victories like this become routine rather than historic. Japan helped open Pakistan’s road back to the World Cup in March; five months later, another 4-3 win over the same opponent has given the Green Shirts their first tangible World Cup step forward in 16 years.