The New Zealand men's hockey team have finished a disappointing 6th at the World League tournament in Argentina after losing 3-1 to Spain in this morning's fifth place playoff.
It's a frustrating end for the tournament's 4th highest ranked team, who missed their first and best opportunity to qualify for next year's Rio Olympics by failing to reach the top three in Buenos Aires.
After missing out on the semi-finals New Zealand needed to finish as high as possible in the qualification matches from 5th to 8th to keep their Olympic hopes alive.
The New Zealanders next opportunity to qualify for the Olympics is the Oceania series against Australia later this year.