Malaysia's hockey team faces second-to-last finish at World Cup, coach eyes Asian Games

Malaysia's national hockey team is poised to repeat their previous performance in the 2026 World Cup, likely finishing in second-to-last place. The team's initial goal of reaching the quarterfinals was not met, as they managed only two draws in their five matches. These draws came against France in the group stage and South Africa in a classification match for 15th place.

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Once again, that's not the position we wanted. I think we have improved and we have closed the gap with the big teams.

Despite the outcome, head coach Brendon Carolan's position is not in question. The World Cup was not his main objective; his primary focus is on the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, where he aims to guide Malaysia to a gold medal, which would secure a spot in the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.

Carolan acknowledged that the current standing is not ideal but emphasized the team's positive development. He believes Malaysia has narrowed the gap with top-tier global teams. "We want to continue closing the gap with the top 10 teams in the world and become better overall as a program," Carolan stated.

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But for us, this is a long-term program to ensure we improve against teams ranked 10 to 16 in the world.

Historically, Malaysia finished last in the 2024 World Cup, 15th in 2018, and 13th in 2023. The team's performance in this tournament indicates a need for continued development to compete at the highest international level.

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We want to continue closing the gap with the top 10 teams in the world and become better overall as a program.