Spain finish on a high as Amat secures Champions Trophy place

PABLO Amat's double ensured Spain ended their Hockey World Cup campaign on a high and finished fifth overall in Delhi.

GOAL MACHINE: Spain's Pablo Amat scores twice as Spain guarantee their place at the end-of-season Champions Trophy and finish fifth in Delhi (Getty Images)

The 31-year old striker scored in the first and 31st minutes to hand Spain a convincing 2-0 defeat of South Korea.

The Olympic silver medallists finished second in Pool B despite beating third placed England and were looking more and more comfortable with every display.

And Dani Martin's men took their confidence into the playoff, dictating play from start to finish ensuring they will qualify for the end of season Champions Trophy in Munchengladbach.

South Korea finished third in last December's Champions Trophy in Melbourne but failed to find the same form in Delhi and rarely threatened the Spanish defence.

If one of Korea's three penalty corners had found its way home, the match might have panned out differently but they had to settle for sixth place overall after drawing a blank for the first time in the tournament.

Meanwhile, hosts India finished eighth overall after losing 4-2 to Argentina in their seventh place playoff.

India dominated much of the first half but three goals in as many minutes early in the second half put the match beyond Jose Brasa's men.

Tomas Argento's 28th minute strike handed Argentina a 1-0 lead at half time, despite being on the back foot for the majority of the opening 35 minutes.

Sandeep Singh struck back with a penalty shot seven minutes after the restart but a double from Lucas Vila and a Facundo Callioni strike three minutes after Singh's equaliser put Argentina in control.

Shivendra Singh struck one back for India in the 49th minute, reacting fastest in the circle to put home Rajpal Singh's rebounded shot, but one goal was all India could muster as they equalled the worst performance of a host nation at the World Cup.

Finally, New Zealand captured ninth spot with a golden goal penalty stroke victory over South Africa.

A thrilling match had ended 4-4 after normal time with the Black Sticks' Andy Hayward grabbing his hat-trick with the last hit of the game.

A goalless 15 minutes of extra time saw penalties ensue and New Zealand's Dean Couzins grabbed the decisive stroke after goalkeeper Kyle Pontifex saved Lloyd Madsen's effort.