South Korea's men handed Egypt one of the heaviest defeats ever inflicted in Olympic hockey on Saturday, blasting past the bottom-ranked team 11-0 in what looked like shooting practice.

The win, including five goals in the final 10 minutes, gave Korea a valuable treasure chest in Pool A where the two semi-final slots could be decided on goal difference.

Team manager Jeon Jae-hong had given the Koreans a target of 10 to 14 goals against Egypt, ranked 16th in the world.

"They started off nervously because they knew we needed as many points as possible but once the first one went in, the optimism came as did the goals," Jeon said.

Ten minutes from the end, Korea had six goals but each time the ball returned to the centre it seemed to smash straight back into the net, with Lee Jung-seon using his nifty stickwork and lightning reactions to score three goals in as many minutes.