On Nic Spooner’s birthday, South Africa came flying out of the blocks and took the lead in the eighth minute. The Grey College old boy, Trevor de Lora, produced a thunderous finish after Pakistan had managed to charge down Mustapha Cassiem’s penalty corner, giving the South Africans a deserved early advantage.

The Proteas extended their lead just three minutes into the second quarter. Dayaan Cassiem showed excellent skill and composure inside the circle, lifting the ball over the goalkeeper’s shoulder and into the net despite having very little room to work with.

Nic Spooner. Photo: Jan van Zyl

Pakistan, though, refused to let South Africa dictate the contest. Afraz pulled one back before Mohammad Ammad struck again, with the two goals dragging Pakistan level at 2–2 before half-time.

The comeback was completed shortly after the restart when Rana Waheed Ashraf found the back of the net in the 32nd minute, putting Pakistan 3–2 ahead.

South Africa responded with plenty of character and restored parity in the 40th minute. Mustapha Cassiem, who has been one of the standout performers for the Proteas throughout the tournament, unleashed a powerful drag flick for his seventh goal of the World Cup.

With the match finely poised at 3–3 heading into the final quarter, the tension continued to build.

Cassiem then struck again with just five minutes remaining, calmly converting a penalty stroke to complete his brace and put South Africa on the brink of an 11th-place finish.

But Pakistan had one more twist in the tale. With the clock ticking into the final minute, Muhammad Hammaduddin found the equaliser in the 60th minute to force the match into a shootout.

Tevin Kok. Photo: Jan van Zyl

Dayaan Cassiem and Calvin Davis successfully converted South Africa’s first two attempts, but misses from Hans Neethling and Jamie Seale put Pakistan in the driving seat.

The Proteas were given a lifeline when Rana Waheed Ashraf failed to convert the chance that would have sealed victory. Mustapha Cassiem duly kept South Africa alive by scoring from the next attempt.

Ammad Butt then stepped up with the decisive effort for Pakistan and held his nerve to secure a 4–3 shootout victory.

It was a cruel ending for South Africa after a spirited performance in an open and entertaining contest. The result sees the Proteas finish 12th at the 2026 FIH Hockey Men’s World Cup, but there were once again plenty of encouraging signs as they showed they can go toe-to-toe with some of the leading teams on the international stage.

OFM Sport/Morgan Piek dg