Hockey World Cup 2023: Indefatigable Korea stun Argentina to seal quarter-finals spot

Korea ensured that there will be Asian representation in the FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup quarter-finals by beating Argentina in a crossover match on Monday, 23 January.

The Korean side came back from 3-5 down in the last quarter to take the game into a shootout. Kim Jae Hyun then rose to the occasion for his side by making two saves while all four of his team’s attempts were converted.

The 3-2 win in the shootout has taken Korea into a quarter-final clash against the Netherlands on January 25. Argentina, the 2016 Olympic champions, were inconsolable after suffering this stunning loss.

First half follows expected lines as Argentina lead

Argentina were the better team in the first half but even then, the resilience and tenacity of their opponents were visible. They kept coming back despite trailing often.

Argentina got the lead in the eighth minute, thanks to a poor effort, ironically from the eventual star of the Asian team – goalkeeper Kim Jae Hyun. He went to the ground while Maico Casella chipped the ball over him from the right-hand side of the circle, close to the baseline.

The equalizer came from Kim Sung Hyun in the 18th minute when the Argentine defense allowed the ball to travel to him from the right-hand side of their last 25. Standing all by himself at the far post, Kim Sung Hyun swept the ball in for a goal.

Playing with a spring in their step, Korea then took the lead just around two minutes later. A penalty corner led to the ball going to several Korean players in the circle and eventually coming to Jeong Junwoo who pushed it across the line.

However, Argentina didn’t give any time for Korea to savor their lead. In around a minute, the South American team was ahead again. A good sequence of passes led to the ball coming to Santiago Tarazona from the left-hand side. Tarazona, standing at the top of the circle, swept the ball at the goal, but the goalkeeper stopped it. Nicolas Keenan then latched on to the rebound to score.

Not long after that, in the 24th minute, the lead increased further. A penalty corner saw Nicolas della Torre smashing his drag-flick toward the far post and beating the goalie. As a result, Argentina went into halftime leading 3-2.

Cagey affair in the second half

The free-flowing action in the first half, which led to end-to-end action, gave way to a more cautious approach from both teams in the second half. Argentina decided to hold on to the possession longer and not rush into attacking moves.

Korea was also not pushing hard but managed to earn a PC in the 41st minute. Their penalty corner expert Jang Jong Hyun drilled the ball into the bottom of the near corner to bring the team back into the game.

Once again, Argentina hit back immediately. In just over 40 seconds, Della Torre scored again. This time too, he targeted the far post and managed to get the ball through the postman.

In the 47th minute, Lucas Toscani made a brilliant cross from the right pocket, into the circle. Casella was present around the near post to receive the pass but couldn’t fully stop it. The ball, though, went through toward the far post where Keenan was present to score his second goal.

Korea's stunning fightback

With a 5-3 lead, Argentina seemed hard to beat. However, their opponents showed that they were not willing to give up. They kept pushing toward the Argentine circle and earned a PC. Jang Jong Hyun was in action again and scored with another impeccable drag-flick in the 50th minute.

Korea was playing with a great deal of speed and enterprise. This led to another PC in the 56th minute. The Argentine coach dropped his head in disappointment. His concern proved legitimate as Korea utilized a beautiful variation to score the equalizer.

Their captain Lee Nam Yong positioned himself at the near post as Jang Jong Hyun this time didn’t take a drag-flick but swept it towards his captain. The ball was deflected perfectly by the skipper into the goal.

In the remaining time, Korea defended efficiently. They managed to clear the ball from their circle well and forced a shootout. Their goalkeeper then saved the very first attempt, from Tomas Domene.

In the shootouts, the Korean attackers were all brilliant, with only Hwang Taeil failing to score out of the four who participated in the shootout. Even Hwang was a bit unlucky as his shot came back off the post.

However, this near miss didn’t deter the Asian side as they went on to seal their spot in the quarters while breaking Argentinian hearts.