“Absolutely delighted,” said a relieved Irish coach Gareth Grundie.
“I think to bounce back after losing to Australia in the semi-finals, we were really disciplined tonight.
“Really dominant and probably unlucky not to win it in a normal time. Delighted to get over the line.”
Ireland will return home after being on the road for five weeks having competed in the FIH Pro League in Australia.
They claimed a first ever win in the competition by beating Australia and qualified for the World Cup for the third successive time.
“I think it’s a great opportunity again to test ourselves against the best in the world,” added Grundie.
“I think the performances over the last couple of weeks, including that Pro League block in February, I think we probably deserve to be there and a real opportunity to test ourselves again this summer.
“I think we want to continue to develop and get better every day. I think there’s more to come from this group.
“We’re certainly not going to make up the numbers at the World Cup. I think we showed that we can compete with the top teams and so it’s about us bringing a good performance every game. If we do that, then we’ll see where we get to at the end of the tournament.”