Junior World Cup :: S. Korea and Pakistan in second round

South Korea and Pakistan have qualified for the second round of the Junior World Cup Finals from here yesterday.

South Korea became the first team to qualify after a pulsating 1-0 win over Spain in a Group C match at the Taman Daya Hockey Stadium.

Former world champions Pakistan then made the cut from Group A when they scored two late goals to beat defending champions Argentina 3-2 at the same venue.

The Koreans snatched their third win of the tournament and have a maximum of nine points. Their last match against England will only serve to decide whether they top the group.

The Spaniards now have the beat Malaysia in order to make it. It will be straight-forward match with the winner making the cut.



Yesterday’s match was a fast-paced affair with both teams going at each other at full throttle.

After a goalless first-half, the Koreans finally made the breakthrough in the 49th minute when Seo Jin-su scored a field goal.

The Spanish side pressed hard in the last 10 minutes and had four penalty corners but they all came to nought.

South Korean coach Shin Seok-kyu described the match as a tough battle and that the pressure at the end was tremendous.

“I do not know why the umpires gave the penalty corners. Thankfully, my players kept their cool. We will think about the second round after the match against England,” he said.

The Group A match between Pakistan and Argentina was full of excitement, with the South Americans enjoying the advantage early on.

The Pakistanis persevered and it paid off with two field goals late in the match. But their win was marred by a red card to Abbas Haider in the 68th minute for an infringement.

Argentina took the lead in the seventh minute off a penalty corner goal by Leandro Tolini before Abbas Haider equalised in the 35th minute.

The Argentines struck on resumption when Santiago Monteli scored in the 55th minute.

Four minutes later Pakistan were back on level terms, thanks to Mohamed Irfan’s goal.

Mohamed Zubair then struck in the 66th minute to allow Pakistan to snatch a win over the defending champions.

Argentina will now have to beat Egypt in their last match today to book their second round berth.

In an earlier match, Belgium defeated Russia 6-1 to keep alive their hopes of a place in the next round.