Pakistan face unbeaten Malaysia in Sultan of Johor Cup final tonight

Final tonight: Pakistan meet hosts Malaysia at Johor Bahru

Wednesday’s lesson: Pakistan blew a 2-1 lead, Malaysia won 3-2

Hosts unbeaten: first final in thirteen years

Pakistan’s junior hockey team take on hosts Malaysia in the final of the 2026 Sultan of Johor Cup at the Taman Daya Hockey Stadium in Johor Bahru on Saturday night. It is the second meeting between the sides this week — and the stakes could hardly be higher.

How they got here

Pakistan secured their final berth on Friday with a hard-fought 2-2 draw against Japan. Twice behind, the green shirts clawed back through Hamza Fayyaz and Ghulam Mustafa. Pakistan and Japan finished level on seven points with an identical +8 goal difference — but Pakistan’s 18 goals scored, against Japan’s 16, earned them second place and the decider.

Malaysia, meanwhile, are unbeaten. The Young Tigers won all four group games and thrashed Canada 6-1 on Friday to finish top of the standings. This is their first appearance in the tournament final in thirteen years — they last reached it in 2013.

The Wednesday warning

The two sides already met on Wednesday, and it was a thriller. Pakistan led 2-1 through Adeel’s strikes in the 36th and 43rd minutes — then Waleed saw red in the 51st minute for a reckless challenge. Down to ten men, Pakistan could not hold out: Safwan Salihe levelled in the 55th minute and Naaveennash Panicker struck again two minutes later to complete a 3-2 comeback for the hosts.

Malaysia head coach Nor Saiful Zaini Nasiruddin says the final is the priority and he will rotate his squad to manage the workload of back-to-back games and avoid injuries. Handling pressure and physical contests, he added, has been the most valuable lesson of the tournament for his young players.

What is at stake

For Pakistan, tonight is about more than a trophy — it is the chance to settle Wednesday’s score on the same turf, against the same opponent. The final will be played after this story is published; follow our sports section for the result.