Defending champions Germany and the Netherlands stayed on course for the semi-finals of the men’s field hockey World Cup with contrasting wins on Friday.
Germany, the reigning Olympic champions who are looking to win a third consecutive World Cup title, sweated to a 4-3 victory over a fighting Argentina at the Dhyan Chand National Stadium.
The Netherlands hammered lowly Canada 6-0 in another group A match, with Rogier Hofman and Taeke Taekema scoring two goals apiece.
PHOTO: EPA
Ronald Brouwer and Rob Reckers were the other scorers as the Netherlands, a three-time winner, hit top gear in the second session after the first had ended 0-0.
With two rounds of league matches remaining, the Netherlands lead the group with nine points from three games, followed by Germany with seven and New Zealand with six.
New Zealand stayed in contention for their first-ever appearance in the semi-finals with a 2-1 win over South Korea.
The Netherlands must win one of their two remaining games against world champions Germany today and South Korea on Tuesday to qualify for the semi-finals.
Dutch captain Teun de Nooijer said the three wins so far had given his team confidence ahead of the match against Germany.
“The rivalry between Germany and the Netherlands is intense, just like the one ween India and Pakistan,” the veteran midfielder said.“ We have to be at our best because we know what the Germans are capable of, but the good record so far means we will be ready for them on Sunday.”
Argentina, who had lost both their previous matches, fought all the way against Germany in an exciting late night match.
Martin Zwicker slammed two goals as Germany took a 3-1 lead, before Matias Paredes scored for Argentina just before halftime.
Martin Haner put Germany 4-2 ahead in the 51st minute and Pedro Ibarra made it 3-4 four minutes later, but Argentina failed to get the equalizer in the last quarter.
“We knew Argentina will be tough because we play a similar game,” German captain Max Muller said. “We should have had a two-goal advantage, but could not score a fifth goal. The group is wide open. We will, of course, need to get the better of the Dutch. It won’t be easy.”
New Zealand scored both their goals against South Korea in the first half when Andrew Hayward converted a penalty corner in the fifth minute, before captain Dean Couzins fired home a penalty-stroke in the 22nd minute of the match.
South Korea reduced the margin in the final minute through a stroke by Lee Nam-yong.
New Zealand, who have not finished higher than seventh in the World Cup, must win their last two games against Argentina today and Germany on Tuesday to book a semi-final spot.
South Korea, the Asian champions, are virtually out of the race with just four points in the bag.
South Korean coach Shin Seok-kyo blamed his team’s poor display in the tournament so far on the lack of proper preparation.
“We should have trained better for the World Cup, but the cold weather at home did not help,” he said. “It is not a good feeling now because we are almost out of it.”
Couzins said the 3-1 win over the South Koreans in the Beijing Olympics boosted his team’s confidence.
“We have a good record against them and that helped,” he said. “We are still in the fight for the semi-finals because we have played quite well.”
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