They had, however, not locked horns since 2005 with Korea triumphing 2-0 on that occasion. They renewed rivalries in Potchefstroom with a place in the top 6 on offer for the winner.

South Africa started with early pressure and were rewarded for the early endeavours as they earned an early penalty corner. That penalty corner almost produced a goal as the variation was deflected by Chante Ferreira but just narrowly wide. A poor tackle from Jean-Leigh du Toit led to Korea getting their first penalty corner of the game shortly after. The two-time winners, though, wasted the opportunity with poor execution.

The early exchanges were truncated by frustration for both sides as turnovers were affected on a regular basis. With both teams having struggled to score goals in the tournament so far, a high goal scoring game was never expected, but both coaches would have been disappointed with not making the most of the ball when they had it in good areas.

It took 14 minutes but the first save of the game had to be made by Eunji Kim when she denied a shot from Mikkela le Roux, the rebound causing a penalty corner to the South Africans. A smart variation saw the ball come wide to Hanrie Louw, but she flashed it wide when she would have been expecting the keeper to make a save. It remained scoreless at the end of the first quarter.

Early miscommunication between the South African defence allowed a chance for Korea, but the chance was missed. In a game of few chances, Korea created the next but Mishka Ellis pulled off the save. She was unable to stop the next opportunity though as the Koreans struck through Nurim Choi. The instinctive finish bobbled its way over the line despite the best efforts of the South Africans.

The hosts looked to pull level before the break but were unable to find the gap despite a few circle entries and a penalty corner and as the half came to its completion it was the Koreans smiling with a 1-0 lead.

South Africa had an early opportunity in the second half with Thati Zulu getting through and having the chance. She unfortunately snatched at it and the Koreans breathed a massive sigh of relief. The South Africans were ramping up the pressure again and saw that pressure turned into opportunity as a penalty corner was awarded. But as had been the story throughout the tournament the execution was lacking and the chance went begging.

Another penalty corner was awarded for a poor Korean tackle with the hosts desperate to convert. They tried something different but again the defence of the Koreans was hardly tested, as the rain started to fall again at the North-West University. As the quarter-end hooter sounded, the Koreans won a penalty corner but despite having their entire team up for it, they were unable to convert. 

1-0 with 15 minutes remaining.

Although the Africans were desperate to get a leveller in the game they were lacking in creativity and ideas. Finding frustration more often than opportunity. Another penalty corner went wasted and the clock started to feel like it was against the hosts as time dwindled down as the match entered its final five minutes. Korea would have to do it with a player less as Seona Kim was given a yellow card.

Despite a tremendous effort from the South Africans, they could not breach the Korean defence and were frustrated to lose 1-0. They will now face USA in the 7-8th place playoff on Tuesday morning.