On the final day of pool play where all of the final qualification games will be decided, Argentina booked their ticket to the semi-finals after a 5-1 win over South Africa. Gonzalo Peillat continued his scoring terror with two more, while Lucas Vila also added two to the sheet. Also competing today in Pool B are Germany and Korea (13:00 CET), as well as New Zealand and the Netherlands (19:45 CET).
MEN Pool B: Argentina v South Africa 5-1 (2-0)
Argentina made history when they beat South Africa 5-1 to qualify for the semi-finals of the Rabobank Hockey World Cup. Los Leones have never qualified for the semi-finals of a senior major tournament in their 121 year history, so this was a special moment for Carlos Retegui and his men.
South Africa had chances, notably in the early stages of the second half, when Justin Reid-Ross was unlucky not to see his cracking shot beat Juan Vivaldi in the Argentine goal. But really this was South American party-time as the men in blue and white scored five goals, displayed outrageous skills and flirted with self-destruction when they were reduced to nine men on the pitch for several minutes during the second period of play.
MEN Pool B: Germany v Korea 6-1 (3-0)
Germany ended their Pool B campaign in positive fashion by claiming a 6-1 victory over Korea, although it proved to be only a small consolation to the fact that the Olympic Champions have missed out on the World Cup semi-finals for the first time since 1971.
Argentina's 5-1 triumph against South Africa earlier in the day killed off any hopes of Max Mueller's men claiming a top two finish in Pool B, ensuring that Los Leones join host nation the Netherlands in the semis. The best Germany can now hope for is a 5th place finish, which would equal the position that they achieved at the 1971 World Cup in Barcelona, Spain.
MEN Pool B: New Zealand v Netherlands 1-1 (1-0)
A big performance from the Black Sticks put the Netherlands under pressure and held them to a 1-1 draw in the final pool match of this Rabobank Hockey World Cup. The result means that the Netherlands will be playing England in the Kyocera Stadium on Friday night, while New Zealand will be playing Spain for 7/8 place. For the Netherlands, this means they are unbeaten in their pool and finish one point ahead of Argentina. New Zealand, who came into the tournament with high expectations of a top six finish will be disappointed that they have failed to reach that target.
For more results, schedule, highlights and more visit the event website at Rabobankhockeyworldcup2014.com
