Pol Amat was on target twice as Spain beat Korea to earn a Champions Trophy spot.
Two first half goals from Pol Amat helped Spain beat Korea 2-0 in the play-off for the fifth-sixth place at the hockey World Cup. The fifth-place finish booked them a berth in the Champions Trophy later this year.
The 2008 Olympic runners-up Spain started on a brisk note and went ahead after just 18 seconds. Amat slammed the ball into the top right corner to score the fastest goal of the tournament.
This helped the Spaniards to calm their nerves. They kept majority of the possession and did not let the Koreans wander near their goal.
Korea were more than happy to play from the midfield and they attacked from the wings. But their attacks came to nothing as the Spanish defence was too good for them.
The Asians had their first serious attempt on goal in the 28th minute but could not get past keeper Francisco Cortes.
Four minutes later, Spain doubled their advantage when Amat tapped in a Xavier Ribas-cross.
The second half started just as the first had, with Spain retaining most of the possession. The Koreans kept pushing forward in search of a goal but they lacked a real intent to score a goal.
Barring a few occasions, where the Koreans earned three penalty corners, the Spaniards were never forced out of their comfort zone. They never really pushed forward after the early lead and a tight defence ensured that there were no hiccups for the Europeans.
This is the worst performance for the Koreans in 12 years, after reaching the semi-finals in the previous two editions.
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