Germany’s men produced one of their best performances to defeat Australia 4-2 and advance to the FIH World Cup semi-finals along with Spain’s men who stunned the home crowd in Wavre.
For the Germans, they fell behind early to a Blake Govers strike but three goals in an eight-minute spell changed the complexion of the contest.
Hannes Müller equalised, Michel Struthoff put them in front and then Justus Warweg put them 3-1 up by the 19th minute.
Joel Rintala reduced the deficit but Hugo von Montgelas got the only goal of the second half to put the Germans in the clear and on course for the final four.
It left the equation clear for the Belgian Red Lions in front of an expectant crowd, needing a win against Spain to advance.
Arthur Van Doren’s corner hit after a slightly wayward injection put them one up early in the tie but Spain – needing a draw – were alive to their task.
And they got their reward in the 46th minute via Marc Miralles’s corner goal which made it 1-1, a scoreline they maintained to advance to the semis for the first time since 2006.
In the classification matches, Ireland topped Pool H despite a 2-1 defeat to France.
On the women’s side, the Netherlands completed the group stages with a 4-1 win over China with Felice Albers and Freeke Moes goals in the 10th and 11th minute meaning they were in control throughout,
Joosje Burg and Marijn Veen completed the scoring before half-time.
Australia will join them in the final four thanks to a 0-0 draw against India – their third draw in succession – which was just enough to go through on goals scored.
Who they play will be determined on Monday evening; Argentina are already through while Belgium can complete the line-up if they avoid a three-goal defeat to Spain.
England assured themselves a top 10 finish with a 3-2 win over Japan to top Pool G in the classification pools.
Picture: Rodrigo Jaramillo/World Sport Pics
