England set up a World Cup quarter-final meeting with the favourites Netherlands by beating South Korea 2-0.
Goals from Sophie Bray and Lily Owsley at the Lee Valley Tennis and Hockey Centre saw England record their best result of the competition so far.
The result could have been even more convincing as England controlled the game, finally showing a dominating streak which was lacking throughout the group stage.
Goalscorer Bray said: “It was good for us to get the first goal.
“It meant South Korea had to come out and play more, which gave us more opportunities.
“Credit to our defenders – it was a solid performance to keep South Korea out.”
Head coach Danny Kerry saw it as a game of two halves.
He said: “I really enjoyed the first half. We absolutely smashed it.
“In the second half, we lost some shape up front, but the first half was fantastic.
“I knew the second half would be cagey as fatigue set in, but I’m a pretty proud coach.
“We have a few things up our sleeve for the Dutch.”
The game against the Dutch will be the first time in the event that second-ranked England are underdogs.
They may need more than a few things up their sleeve if they hope to advance to a potential semi-final with Australia as the Dutch have scored 26 goals in three outings, whilst England have five from four.
