AT THE ESTADIO Nacional, Ireland Men secured their spot in the semi-finals of this 2026 Hockey World Cup qualifier event in Santiago, Chile, with one Group B game still remaining.
The Green Machine largely picked up where they left off in their opening game on Sunday, when they beat Canada 5-2, with quick passing and high intensity.
Korea made the clear decision early on to step off, however they still managed to threaten in the opening minutes with long aerial balls from their veteran captain Jonghyun Jang (aged 41).
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An Irish penalty corner at the close of the first quarter saw Greg Williams score his first senior goal with a roundhouse drag flick that completely flummoxed the Korean defensive effort.
Jang then swiftly responded with a goal of his own when his side needed it to keep Korea in the contest and their own World Cup qualification hopes alive.
Lee Cole scored from a penalty stroke in the second quarter when an Irish attacker was fouled. But then just moments later Matthew Nelson deflected one past Jaehan Kim in goals which had Irish head coach Mark Tumilty celebrating.
Louis Rowe scored one of his own in the 42nd minute after a brilliant run into the circle to further set back the Korean effort, and then added another in the final quarter from a clinical finish in front of goal.
A sharp drag flick then gave Cole his second in the game, his fourth in the tournament so far, and Ireland’s best ever result against Korea. It also brought Cole to 50 goals for Ireland.
Herculean saves from Kim in the closing moments denied Ireland a seventh but Korean head coach Taeseok Min cut a frustrated figure on the sideline as the result eliminated his side from qualification for the 2026 Hockey World Cup in Belgium and the Netherlands later this year.
Korea needed to win today and faced an uphill task after losing to Poland 3-2 having initially led 2-1 in that opening fixture, however today’s result gives Ireland a spot in the semi-final of this qualifier event later this week. A win will secure World Cup qualification.
Ireland Men play Poland tomorrow at 12pm for a chance to top Group B.
Player of the Match: Sean Murray
IRELAND: J Carr (GK); J McKee, K Marshall (capt), S Murray, P McKibbin, J Duncan, J Lynch, L Cole, F Gibson, A McAllister, A Empey. Rolling subs: M Nelson, M McNellis, B Walker, P Brown, L Rowe, L Roleston, G Williams.
KOREA: J Kim (GK); K Kim, J Sim, J Rim, J Kim, S Oh, M Bae, J Jang (capt), H Kim, S Lee, H Lee. Rolling subs: D Jang, S Cheon, D Lim, Y Kong, S Baek, G Jin, C Chaoi.
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Ireland Men seal qualifier semi-final spot with record win over Korea
Ireland 6
Korea 1
Dave Sihra reports
AT THE ESTADIO Nacional, Ireland Men secured their spot in the semi-finals of this 2026 Hockey World Cup qualifier event in Santiago, Chile, with one Group B game still remaining.
The Green Machine largely picked up where they left off in their opening game on Sunday, when they beat Canada 5-2, with quick passing and high intensity.
Korea made the clear decision early on to step off, however they still managed to threaten in the opening minutes with long aerial balls from their veteran captain Jonghyun Jang (aged 41).
An Irish penalty corner at the close of the first quarter saw Greg Williams score his first senior goal with a roundhouse drag flick that completely flummoxed the Korean defensive effort.
Jang then swiftly responded with a goal of his own when his side needed it to keep Korea in the contest and their own World Cup qualification hopes alive.
Lee Cole scored from a penalty stroke in the second quarter when an Irish attacker was fouled. But then just moments later Matthew Nelson deflected one past Jaehan Kim in goals which had Irish head coach Mark Tumilty celebrating.
Louis Rowe scored one of his own in the 42nd minute after a brilliant run into the circle to further set back the Korean effort, and then added another in the final quarter from a clinical finish in front of goal.
A sharp drag flick then gave Cole his second in the game, his fourth in the tournament so far, and Ireland’s best ever result against Korea. It also brought Cole to 50 goals for Ireland.
Herculean saves from Kim in the closing moments denied Ireland a seventh but Korean head coach Taeseok Min cut a frustrated figure on the sideline as the result eliminated his side from qualification for the 2026 Hockey World Cup in Belgium and the Netherlands later this year.
Korea needed to win today and faced an uphill task after losing to Poland 3-2 having initially led 2-1 in that opening fixture, however today’s result gives Ireland a spot in the semi-final of this qualifier event later this week. A win will secure World Cup qualification.
Ireland Men play Poland tomorrow at 12pm for a chance to top Group B.
Player of the Match: Sean Murray
IRELAND: J Carr (GK); J McKee, K Marshall (capt), S Murray, P McKibbin, J Duncan, J Lynch, L Cole, F Gibson, A McAllister, A Empey. Rolling subs: M Nelson, M McNellis, B Walker, P Brown, L Rowe, L Roleston, G Williams.
KOREA: J Kim (GK); K Kim, J Sim, J Rim, J Kim, S Oh, M Bae, J Jang (capt), H Kim, S Lee, H Lee. Rolling subs: D Jang, S Cheon, D Lim, Y Kong, S Baek, G Jin, C Chaoi.
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