Down by two goals with 13 minutes to go, the Koreans roar back into contention to make it 5-5 at the end of regulation time; goalkeeper Jaehyeon Kim emerges the hero with three remarkable saves in the shootout.
Korea dug deep into its reserves to become the last and the lowest-ranked side to reach the quarterfinals of the World Cup with a dramatic 3-2 shootout win in the crossover match against 201 6 Olympic champion Argentina. The teams were tied 5-5 in regulation time in a seesaw game before the Koreans prevailed to keep the Asian challenge alive in the competition.
Having missed the previous edition and finishing 10th before that, Korea threw everything it had into the game, desperate to stay in the hunt.
With Argentina not conceding any quarter, the contest turned out to be one of the best in the tournament. Argentina looked determined but it had to contend with a nippy Korea that relied on counterattacks and managed to accelerate every time it got the ball. Having run out of fuel towards the end in its previous matches, Korea caught Argentina by surprise with a clean defence and turning it quickly into attack. Argentina still took an early lead after a sloppy clearance by Korean goalkeeper Jaehyeon Kim allowed Maico Casella to tap home in the eighth minute. Kim eventually became Korea's hero, bringing off three spectacular saves in the shootout to deny Argentina.
Korea kept up the pressure and the second quarter saw a goal-fest with both teams scoring twice. Korea found the target in the 18th minute when Jungjun Lee passed to Taeil Hwang, who reverse passed it to an unmarked Sunghyun Kim. Two minutes later, Junwoo Jeong doubled the lead only for Nicolas Keenan to pull Argentina level again, deflecting a free hit home. Nicolas della Torre made it 3-2 three minutes later.
The match continued to be in the balance and when Argentina took a two goal lead with 13 minutes to go, it looked like Korea would falter again near the finish line. But Yong Nam Lee and his men had other ideas, pushing hard and earning two penalty corners, and converting both to make it even.
Korea's reward for the stunning win will be a clash for a semi-final spot against last edition's runner-up Netherlands on Wednesday. Argentina will travel to Rourkela and take on Chile in a classification match on Thursday.
The result: Korea 5 (Jonghyun Jang 2, Junwoo Jeong, Sunghyun Kim, Yong Nam Lee) drew with Argentina 5 (Nicolas Keenan 2, Nicolas della Torre 2, Maico Casella). Korea won 3-2 in shootout.
Tuesdays matches (quarterfinals): Australia vs Spain (4.30 p.m.), Belgium vs New Zealand (7 p.m.).
