The men’s hockey team joined the quarterfinals while writing a drama.
The men’s hockey team, led by head coach Shin Seok-gyo, drew 5-5 against world-ranked 7th-ranked Argentina in the men’s World Cup quarterfinal match, before winning 3-2 in a shootout. Through this, they dramatically advanced to the quarterfinals.
Argentina increased their possession from the beginning of the game, and in the 7th minute of the first half, Kim Jae-hyeon (Seongnam City Hall) goalkeeper made a save, and Maico Casella scored a rather lucky goal as Maico Casella put the ball into the goal with a diving shot.
Korea had a good start in the second quarter. Jang Jong-hyeon (Seongnam City Hall) intercepted the cross from Argentina’s side attack and counterattacked. The passed ball hit the Argentine stick and deflected, and Kim Seong-hyeon (Seongnam City Hall) shot the equalizer in the 17th minute.
Korea scored its second goal in the 19th minute in a penalty corner situation, and Jeong Jun-woo (Incheon City Sports Association) scored an additional goal on the ball that flowed out after being hit by the opposing defender’s save, quickly taking the lead. However, within the first minute, Argentina conceded back to back with a field goal from Nicolas Keenan and a penalty corner from Nicolas Della Torre.
Argentina pressed hard to lead in the second half, but Korea endured the early pressure well without conceding a penalty corner despite Argentina’s penetration into the circle. Finally, Korea got a penalty corner in the 40th minute of the second half, and Jang Jong-hyeon (Seongnam City Hall) succeeded in the penalty corner. However, Korea conceded a goal through a penalty corner to Nicolas Delatore in the first minute, ending the third quarter with a 4-3 lead. 스포츠토토
In the first minute of the fourth quarter, Casella’s shot was blocked by goalkeeper Kim Jae-hyeon (Seongnam City Hall)’s save, but Keenan put the ball between the goalkeeper’s legs, giving Argentina a two-point lead.
However, Korea did not back down and in the 49th minute, Jang Jong-hyeon (Seongnam City Hall) scored his second goal from a penalty corner to give chase. Five minutes later, Nam-yong Lee (Seongnam City Hall) touched the ball that Jang Jong-hyeon (Seongnam City Hall) connected to Lee Nam-yong (Seongnam City Hall) in a penalty corner situation. Through this, he succeeded in scoring the equalizer and returned the game to the starting point, deciding the winner with a shootout.
After the shoot-out, goalkeeper Kim Jae-hyeon (Seongnam City Hall) blocked Domene and Toscani’s shots, and Ferreiro missed the shot after 8 seconds. South Korea scored 3 of 4 attempts to dramatically win the shootout 3-2 to become the only Asian team to advance to the quarterfinals.
Jang Jong-hyeon (Seongnam City Hall) was selected as the MVP of the game. “We are really happy as a winning team, and we will try to do even better in the quarterfinals,” said Jang Jong-hyun.
South Korea’s men’s hockey has risen from 16th in the world rankings to the current 9th when President Lee Sang-hyun takes office in January 2021. The next quarterfinal match will be held in Bhubaneswar on January 25th (Wednesday) at 22:30 (Korean time) against world number 3 Netherlands.
The match will be broadcast on ‘Watch Hockey’ (paid service), the live streaming platform of the International Hockey Federation (FIH).