The German national hockey team narrowly missed out on reaching the quarter-finals at the World Cup in India.
The team of national coach Andre Henning won 7: 2 (2: 1) against South Korea on Friday and ended the preliminary round only because of three fewer goals scored behind defending champion Belgium in second place in group B. In the intermediate round Germany meets France on Monday .
Niklas Wellen (1st/16th/40th), Gonzalo Peillat (42nd), Justus Weigand (50th), Captain Mats Grambusch (52nd) and Moritz Ludwig (52nd) scored the goals for the selection of German hockey -Federal (DHB).
Jang Jonghyun (14th/59th) was successful for the South Koreans.
With two wins and a draw against Olympic champions Belgium, the German team missed first place in the group and missed out on reaching the quarter-finals.
Belgium had presented against Japan (7:1) immediately before the German game.
Germany would have had to make up nine goals for first place.
Accordingly, the selection around Captain Grambusch acted stormy: The newly minted father Wellen scored for a quick lead.
The fourth in the world rankings continued to push, but the Asians equalized after a penalty corner.
Crossover game against France
The Germans also got off to a flying start in Rourkela at the beginning of the second quarter.
Wellen, who found out during the half-time break against Belgium (2-2) that his partner Kim Draisaitl, sister of ice hockey star Leon Draisaitl, had given birth to a son, scored again.
But the other goals from Wellen, Peillat after a penalty corner, Weigand and Ludwig were no longer enough for first place.
Germany will go into the so-called crossover game as favorites against France, who finished third in Group A.
In India, only the group winners automatically advance to the quarter-finals.
The runners-up and third-placed teams determine the other teams for the round of eight from among themselves.