Ireland thrashes Malaysia 7-4

The Malaysian national hockey team's quest for their first victory in the 2026 Hockey World Cup campaign suffered another setback as they were defeated 7-4 by Ireland in a classification match in Wavre.

Ireland established an early dominance, with Jonathan Lynch opening the scoring in the eighth minute and adding two more goals, including a penalty corner, by the 24th minute. Matthew Nelson further extended Ireland's lead in the 19th minute, putting Ireland comfortably ahead 4-0.

Malaysia showed resilience, with Azimuddin Syakir Kamaruddin converting a penalty corner in the 29th minute, followed by Amirul Hamizan Azahar's penalty corner goal seven minutes later, narrowing the deficit. However, John McKee scored for Ireland in the 37th minute, and although Azrai Aizad Abu Kamal netted another for Malaysia four minutes later, making it 5-3, Ireland continued to press.

Benjamin Walker scored for Ireland in the 54th minute, but Faizal Saari managed to score for Malaysia a minute later, bringing the score to 7-4. Malaysia is scheduled to face South Africa next, seeking a victory to conclude their World Cup campaign on a positive note.