Sam Ward scored four goals as England beat Korea 7-2 in their final group game at the Hockey World League Semi Finals but it wasn't enough to top Pool A.
That honour went to Olympic champions Argentina on goal difference but England still comfortably progressed into the quarter-finals where they'll face Canada on Thursday.
The 26-year-old, who competed for Team GB at the 2016 Olympics in Rio, is now the second leading goal scorer in the tournament in London with seven.
Ward got England off the mark after six minutes as he deflected Henry Weir's cross from the edge of the D and David Ames doubled their advantage 90 seconds into the second quarter.
But Korea pulled themselves level as Jang Jong-hyun and Lee Daeyeol got goals back knowing that only a win would be enough for them to reach the quarter-finals at China's expense.
Barely two minutes after Korea's equaliser though, Ward had his second as he found the roof of the net after collecting a rebound from an England penalty corner.
And the England forward had his hat-trick after 36 minutes as he converted Harry Martin's bobbling cross to make it 4-2.
Knowing that they needed goals to overturn Argentina's superior goal difference, England went with 11 outfield players in the final quarter and were almost rewarded for their bravery.
Phil Roper smashed a reverse stick shot home after latching onto a first time ball forward before Ward had his fourth of the evening inside the final minute.
There was still just enough time for Roper to grab a seventh and Ward was understandably delighted with his team's performance in the second half.
"We went into half time at 2-1 and there was a lot of pressure on us to come out in the second half and perform," he said.
"But we came out, picked up our game and that's what happens when we play a bit of hockey.
"It's a great feeling (to score four) but the main thing is getting the results and hopefully now we can continue that into the quarters and really nail it home on Thursday.
"I've not seen huge amounts of (Canada) but we've played them before and they're obviously a hugely capable side and they won 6-0 the other day so they've very capable of scoring goals." Earlier in the day Scotland had come close to booking their own quarter-final spot, but could not find a winner against Canada in their final Pool B encounter. Going into the game knowing that only a win would see them leapfrog Pakistan and finish in fourth place, they went behind to a Gordon Johnston goal in the 29th minute. Willie Marshall levelled matters from a penalty corner with just under 20 minutes to play, but even with Canada down to ten men in the closing stages, the Scots could not find the winner they craved.
Sportsbeat 2017