August 21, 2026

South Africa claimed their first victory of the FIH Hockey Men’s World Cup with an impressive 3-1 win over France in their opening Pool H classification encounter at the Belfius Hockey Arena in Wavre on Friday.

Just 24 hours after producing an excellent performance to hold three-time world champions Australia to a 2-2 draw, the South Africans backed it up with another display full of confidence, discipline and attacking quality.

And this time, the performance brought the full reward.

South Africa made the breakthrough in the 17th minute through Mustapha Cassiem, giving the Africans the advantage after a positive start to the contest. France barely had time to recover before Cassiem struck again.

Just two minutes later, in the 19th minute, the younger Cassiem added his second of the match to suddenly put South Africa 2-0 ahead and firmly in control of the encounter.

France needed a response and found one on the stroke of half-time through experienced captain Victor Charlet. His goal reduced the deficit to 2-1 and ensured the contest remained finely balanced heading into the second half.

South Africa, however, refused to allow the French goal to disrupt the quality of their performance.

The third quarter became a test of composure as France searched for a route back into the game, but South Africa remained organised without losing their willingness to play forward when opportunities presented themselves.

At the heart of an impressive South African display was Calvin Davis, whose influence across the contest was recognised when he was named Player of the Match.

With the contest still sitting at 2-1 deep into the final quarter, France continued searching for the equaliser while South Africa knew one more goal would put the result beyond doubt.

It arrived in the final minute.

And fittingly, after younger brother Mustapha had done the damage in the opening half, Dayaan Cassiem supplied the final blow. The South African captain found the back of the net to make it 3-1, putting the seal on a superb victory for the African champions.

The result carried added significance given the recent history between the two teams.

France had defeated South Africa twice at the FIH Nations Cup in Cape Town just two months earlier, including a 2-1 victory in the final. On the World Cup stage, however, South Africa turned the tables.

It also continued a clear upward trajectory through the tournament. After defeats against Spain and Ireland, South Africa produced an outstanding 2-2 draw with Australia before going one better against France to secure their first three points of the World Cup.

For South Africa, the combination of Mustapha Cassiem’s first-half double, a composed team performance led by Calvin Davis, and Dayaan Cassiem’s late finish delivered a result that provides significant momentum in the 9th–16th classification phase.

South Africa now turn their attention to another familiar opponent, Malaysia, who they face on Sunday, 23 August at 11:30 in Wavre.

Source: sahockey.co.za