WAVRE: Pakistan’s woes at the FIH Pro League continued on Sunday as Spain put five goals past the national side at the Belfius Hockey Arena on Sunday.

Having conceded seven goals to Belgium on Saturday, Pakistan did well to do some damage control but still went down 5-1 to Spain as the two sides clashed for the first time since the 2012 Olympic Games.

The Spanish created several early chances, and the breakthrough came in the 11th minute from a long corner with Nicolas Alvarez providing the slick, one-touch finish to edge his side in front.

Pakistan had their first real chance off a penalty corner in the second quarter, but it was well kept out by Luis Calzado. At the other end, Ali Raza made a good save of his own off another long corner, but Pepe Cunill pounced on the rebound and fired in to make it 2-0 to Spain in the 23rd minute.

With just 12 seconds left in the half, Cunill added a third for Spain off a penalty corner to take them into the break 3-0 up.

Pakistan managed to pull one back in the 43rd minute, thanks to Abu Mahmood’s drag from a penalty corner. But just five minutes later, Spain had restored their three-goal cushion thanks to a Marc Reyne field goal. A defensive blunder led to Alvarez slotting in his second and Spain’s fifth in the 52nd minute, well and truly taking the game out of reach.

Published in Dawn, June 15th, 2026