New Zealand were relegated from the elite six after suffering a 1-2 defeat against Germany in the classification match for the last two places in the Champions Trophy hockey tournament in Lahore on Sunday.
Germany, who came up with the biggest upset of the competition with a win over defending champions champions Holland in their last league match on Friday, ended their campaign on a positive note after Florian Keller's double strike ensured the victory for the side.
After a barren first half, Keller's goals in the 43rd and 53rd minutes gave the Germans a 2-0 lead before Bevan Hari scored to reduce the margin just a minute before the hooter.
The world champions, playing with a developmental side, gained an automatic entry into the next edition of the event, to be held in Chennai, while New Zealand would be playing the qualifiers for a berth in the elite six-nation tournament.
New Zealand paid dearly for missing several chances on the either side of the break and their misery was further compounded when umpire Virendra Singh of India disallowed a goal by Darren Smith just seconds before the half time.
The Germans must be quite happy to end their campaign on a high note after suffering losses in their first four matches.
{{/usCountry}}The Germans must be quite happy to end their campaign on a high note after suffering losses in their first four matches.
{{/usCountry}}New Zealand, on the otherhand, showed a lot of promise but failed to deliver as they finished the tournament without winning a single match.
The league match between the two had ended in a draw.