19 goals on day one. Nobody in Johor came for a quiet start
Nineteen goals. Two games. Day one of the Sultan of Johor Cup didn’t ease anyone in, it just went straight for it.
Pakistan beat China 8-3 after being 3-1 down. Japan beat Canada 8-1, and that one was over by half-time. If you’re a coach who wanted a calm first look at your squad, sorry. You didn’t get it.
Pakistan 8-3 China — a scare, then a flood
For 25 minutes, this looked like a disaster for Pakistan.
Saif Ullah put them ahead in the 13th minute, and then China took the game away. Liang Haolin scored twice in three minutes, 15th and 18th, both field goals. Wang Yubo made it 3-1 from a penalty corner in the 25th. Pakistan captain Muhammad Ammad and his side were chasing shadows.
Then Muhammad Farooq scored.
His penalty corner on 30 minutes, right before the break, changed everything. 3-2 down at half-time feels very different to 3-1, and Pakistan played the second half like they knew it.
Rana Waleed levelled it in the 37th. Hamza Fayyaz put Pakistan in front two minutes later. Ghulam Mustafa made it 5-3 in the 43rd, Muhammad Usman added a penalty corner in the 44th, and China just couldn’t stop the bleeding.
Asam Haider finished the job late, a penalty stroke in the 55th and a penalty corner in the 57th. Eight goals, six of them in the second half.
Here’s the honest take, though. Scoring eight is great fun. Conceding three to China in 12 first-half minutes isn’t, and better teams will punish that start. Pakistan can’t keep giving themselves a mountain to climb, even if climbing this one was impressive.
Pakistan scorers: Saif Ullah 13′, Muhammad Farooq 30′, Rana Waleed 37′, Hamza Fayyaz 39′, Ghulam Mustafa 43′, Muhammad Usman 44′, Asam Haider 55′, 57′
China scorers: Liang Haolin 15′, 18′, Wang Yubo 25′
Japan 8-1 Canada — ruthless, and it was done by half-time
Japan didn’t mess about.
Shota Hanayama scored in the 15th minute, captain Yuto Higuchi converted a penalty corner a minute later, and Canada were already in trouble. Seia Yamada made it 3-0 in the 22nd, Rei Ninomiya added a fourth in the 28th, and Chihiro Furusawa scored the fifth on 30 minutes. Half-time, 5-0.
That’s not a bad day. That’s a statement.
Canada did get one back. Their captain Kale Simonson scored in the 51st minute to make it 6-1, after Shogo Sasaki had added Japan’s sixth in the 46th. But Japan weren’t finished resting on it either. Matsuki Mori scored in the 56th and Ryosuke Shinohara in the 57th, and 8-1 is a scoreline Canada will want to forget fast.
For our money, Japan were the team of the day. Pakistan scored the same number of goals, but Japan never looked in danger for a single minute. Canada, who came here to test themselves against exactly this kind of pace ahead of the 2027 Junior World Cup, got the test. It hurt.
Japan scorers: Shota Hanayama 15′, Yuto Higuchi 16′, Seia Yamada 22′, Rei Ninomiya 28′, Chihiro Furusawa 30′, Shogo Sasaki 46′, Matsuki Mori 56′, Ryosuke Shinohara 57′
Canada scorer: Kale Simonson 51′
What the table looks like now
Japan and Pakistan both have 3 points. Japan sit on top on goal difference, +7 to Pakistan’s +5, because they only conceded once.
Malaysia haven’t played yet, they open on Sunday, so the table will move again quickly. China are on 0 points with a -5 difference, Canada are bottom on 0 with -7.
That matters because only the top four in this five-team round robin go into the medal matches on 24 October. One heavy defeat doesn’t knock anyone out, the format’s forgiving enough for that, but a second one on Sunday would leave Canada or China needing other results to go their way. There’s no room for another 8-1.
Sunday in Johor — Canada again, and the hosts finally start
Pakistan v Canada, Sunday 18 October, 2:05 pm PKT
Canada have to play again less than 24 hours after conceding eight, and it’s against a Pakistan side that just scored eight. That’s a brutal turnaround. Pakistan start as clear favourites, but they’ll want a cleaner first half than they managed against China.
Malaysia v China, Sunday 18 October, 4:35 pm PKT
The hosts finally get going, in front of their own crowd at Taman Daya. China showed in that first 25 minutes against Pakistan that they can score quickly if you switch off, so Malaysia can’t stroll into this one. A win puts Malaysia straight into the top-four fight. A loss, and the home crowd gets nervous early.
Day one gave us goals, a comeback and one very loud warning from Japan. Day two’s got a tired Canada side trying not to sink, and a host nation that hasn’t even started yet.
We followed the Pakistan game ball by ball: LIVE Pakistan v China. Everything else about the week is in the full tournament guide.
