Olympic::Men's Hockey Day 3 Preview

Race for Hockey semifinal berths heats up

The battle for semifinal spots intensifies as the third round of matches in the Men's Hockey preliminaries get underway at the Olympic Green Hockey Stadium on Friday. Australia, gold medalists at Athens 2004, are the team to watch and beat as they take on Pakistan, while the Netherlands meet Canada. A victory for Australia and the Netherlands should almost guarantee them semifinal spots from pool B. The situation is fluid in pool A, where four teams -- Spain (6 points), world champions Germany (4), the Republic of Korea (3) and New Zealand (3) -- are in the hunt; none can afford to drop any more points.

In pool A, the first match of the day will kick off between Spain and China.

Spain, unbeaten in two matches and at the top of their pool, will be looking to regain their scoring touch. A win against China would all but confirm a semifinal spot for the Spaniards, who have yet to fire on all cylinders. China, with two defeats, can at best hope to salvage a draw if they can sustain their early tempo through 70 minutes.

New Zealand will compete with Belgium. New stay in the reckoning by defeating Belgium, a task easier said than done. Belgium is on a hot run after forcing a 1-1 draw with world champions Germany for their first point in two matches.

The Kiwis were unlucky to lose to Spain in their second game, but their performance underlined the team's potential to progress in the competition.

The last match of pool A will be between the Republic of Korea and Germany. The match has all the trappings of an intriguing contest, with the ROK team hoping to gatecrash the semifinal party like they did at the 2006 World Cup.

World champions Germany will need to be at their best against the ROK, who showed signs of regaining their form during their 5-2 rout of China. Germany's better composure and organization, besides experience, could tilt the balance in their favor.

In pool B, the Netherlands will face off against Canada. Any result other than a victory for the Netherlands would be a huge surprise, as the Dutch have not lost to the Canadians in five meetings so far. The Dutch will be eager to get back among goals after their narrow 1-0 win against Great Britain. Canada, the Pan-American champions, will look to redeem themselves after losing both their matches so far.

Pakistan will play with Australia, which is the hottest team in the competition. They are on a roll and their form suggests a third win for the defending champions. Another win should nicely set up defending champions Australia's final push for a semifinal berth.

Pakistan, for all the immense individual talent, are still to spark, but showed ominous signs during their 3-1 win over Canada. Pakistan's major concern is their rather fragile defense that will be under pressure from the rampant Aussie forwards.

South Africa will play with Great Britain to conclude the day's competitions. Great Britain displayed top form to keep pace with the Netherlands before losing 1-0, and they will be looking to carry the form against South Africa. A victory against the South Africans would keep Britain's semifinal hopes alive.

South Africa, with two defeats, will be eager to earn their first point by tripping Britain.