Argentina have qualified for the women’s hockey tournament at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, without hitting a ball. The Republic of Korea’s penalty shoot-out win over hosts Belgium in the World League semi-finals in Antwerp on Tuesday (30 June) meant that the South Americans, who finished fourth in their side of the semi-finals in Valencia in June, are confirmed for Rio.

The Lionesses, as the Argentine team is known, were celebrating as the Koreans scored an equaliser with 35 seconds left to tie their match with Belgium at 2-2, and then went on to win the shoot-out 3-0. It meant that the Republic of Korea went into the last four of their side of the semi-finals.

The Rio 2016 women’s hockey tournament will be disputed by 12 teams. Six teams will qualify from the World League (the top three from each side of the semi-finals), plus five continental champions. However, because Brazil failed to reach the qualifying standard required to claim the host nation place, according to the rules, a seventh team will go through from the World League. As the Republic of Korea had already confirmed their place in Rio by winning last year’s Asian Games title, it meant that Argentina are guaranteed a place.

Brazil’s women failed to guarantee their place as host nation as they did not meet the requirement of being in the top 40 of the world rankings in 2014, and their hopes were extinguished when they failed to qualify for the Pan-American Games.

The American continental winner will be decided at the Pan-American Games that start on 10 July in Toronto, while the European qualifier will be decided at the Euro Championships in London in August. The Oceania Cup in New Zealand and Africa Cup for Nations in Egypt, both in October, will determine the qualifiers from those continents.

Qualifying for the Olympic and Paralympic Games is a continual process and the final places will only be confirmed in July 2016 (for the Olympic Games) and August 2016 (for the Paralympic Games). Places are recommended by national federations or the sporting organisations of each country and its respective National Olympic Committee or National Paralympic Committee, who will decide the final places.