Olympic::Men's Hockey Day 6 Preview

Netherlands faces Germany in bid for fourth straight final

The world's top four Hockey teams -- Australia, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain -- will contest the semifinals of the Men's Hockey competition on Thursday in a repeat of the final four of the Athens 2004 Games. Australia and the Netherlands have looked the best of the 12 teams to date and are favorites to meet in Saturday's final at the Olympic Green Hockey Stadium.

The first semifinal match will be between the Netherlands and Germany. The on-form Netherlands are seeking their fourth consecutive Olympic final and are favored to repeat their Athens 2004 semifinal victory against world champions Germany. Their hopes revolve around veteran midfielder Teun de Nooijer and penalty corner specialist Taeke Taekema, who has scored 10 goals so far. Germany will be hoping for more from their forwards, especially Christopher Zeller, who was central to their 2006 World Cup success.

Spain will meet Australia at the semifinal to conclude the matches of the day. Australia thrashed Spain 6-3 in the semifinals at the Athens 2004 Games on the way to the country's first gold medal, with seven survivors from Athens; Spain have 11. Australia's strength lies in their explosive frontline of Eddie Ockenden, Grant Schubert and Jamie Dwyer.

Spain's last Olympic victory against Australia was in the semifinals of the 1996 Atlanta Games. Spain's Pol Amat and Santiago Freixa have been impressive with their lightning counter attacks.

Australia beat Spain 4-1 in the 2008 Champions Trophy final after the teams drew 1-1 in the preliminary rounds.

Belgium will meet Canada in the classification 9-10 match. Returning to Men's Olympic Hockey after a 32-year absence, 12th ranked Belgium have already exceeded most people's expectations. Belgium countered China in their final preliminary match to finish fifth in pool A.

Canada finished fifth in pool B after defeating South Africa 5-3.

Pakistan and New Zealand will compete with each other in the classification 7-8 match. Pakistan won the last of their three Olympic gold medals at the 1984 Los Angeles Games. But, despite a wealth of individual talent, the team could finish only fourth in pool B. World No. 11 New Zealand could have finished higher with sharper play.