England's men win World Cup qualifying tournament

Group photograph of England's men's team celebrating their tournament winImage source, FIH
Image caption,

England won the event's gold medal, though they had already qualified for the World Cup finals

BySimon Armstrong
BBC Sport journalist
  • Published

England's men won their Hockey World Cup qualification tournament with a 4-1 victory over Pakistan in the final in Egypt.

England had already qualified for the World Cup finals in Belgium and the Netherlands in August by virture of reaching the final.

And they took the lead when Harry Croft's 18th-minute shot was deflected past the Pakistan keeper.

Two second-half scores by Sam Hooper extended their advantage and although Pakistan's Waleed Rana narrowed the gap, a Ben Fox goal in the 52nd minute made sure of victory.

It followed wins against Malaysia, the United States, Egypt and Japan earlier in week.

They will be joined as qualifiers from the event by Pakistan, along with Japan and Malaysia, who contested the bronze medal match.

England's women secured a 5-2 win over Italy in the first game of their qualification tournament in India.

Chile is also currently hosting qualification events for both men and women's teams.

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