Netherlands women will face defending champions Argentina in the semifinals of Hockey World Cup, while USA will take on Australia in the other semifinals encounter at The Hague on Thursday.
Argentine eves, which are chasing their third title, were held to a draw in their last group game by China and finished second in Pool B behind the United States. On the other hand, the Dutch topped their group by winning all five matches.
Netherland's Willemijn Bos stressed the team is ready for the semifinal against Argentina but pointed out that they need to strengthen their defence after conceding seven penalty corners in last 10 minutes.
"We did a good job, and now we can get ready for the semi-finals," Bos said. "Before that match we need to look at our defence. Although we didn't concede, we were lucky and we cannot afford to give away so many penalty corners."
The Argentines were held to a draw in their last encounter but they still managed to book last-four spot. Argentina's Delfina Merino said their objective of reaching the semis has been accomplished and now they are aiming to improve performance in the medal rounds.
"We reached an objective by making the semi-final," Merino said. "We'll try to fix the things that didn't work and do better next game. The semi-final will be like a final, which is ok for us."
Pool A runners up Australia are set to face the US in a bid to book semifinal berth. They were held by a resurgent Black Sticks women in the last group game but coach Edwina Bone was pleased with her team's performance.
USA finished 12 in the Olympics and made a mockery of their rankings by beating teams like Germany and England. They finished at the top of Pool B with 13 points and remained unbeaten in the competition.
In the qualification matches, England eves will face Belgium in the 11th place playoff rubber, while Malaysian men will face South Africa at the Kyocera Stadium today.
Schedule of Play
Belgium vs England (Women) Starts at 11:00 am CET, 2:30 pm IST
Malaysia vs South Africa (Men) Starts at 1:30 pm CET, 5:00 pm IST
USA vs Australia (Women) Starts at 4:00 pm CET, 7:30 pm IST
Netherlands vs Argentina (Women) Starts at 7:45 pm CET, 11:15 pm IST
Where to Watch Live
The first match, between Belgium and England, is scheduled for a 11:00 am local time (2:30 pm IST) start, with Netherlands vs Argentina match set for a 7:45 pm local time (11:15 pm IST) start. Live coverage in India is on Ten Sports, with live streaming option HERE. Viewers in the US can catch the action on ESPN 3 or via live streaming option HERE. The UK viewers can watch the matches on Sky Sports 3, while they can also catch the action live online HERE.
