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Germany rout South Africa 5-0
Germany, with 10 points, are tied with Korea at the top of the table and the two meet on Wednesday, requiring only a draw to advance to the semi-finals.
Defending champions Germany moved closer to booking a berth in the semifinals as they routed South Africa 5-0 in a pool B match of the 11th FIH men's hockey World Cup on Tuesday.
Two first-half goals by Christopher Zeller (5th) and Matthias Witthaus (32nd) put Germany on a strong footing and towards close, Oliver Hentschel (64th), Witthaus (66th) and Sebastian Biederblack (68th) ensured them a comfortable win.
Germany, with 10 points, are tied with Korea at the top of the table and the two meet on Wednesday, requiring only a draw to advance to the semi-finals.
Though suffering their second defeat in four matches, the South Africans gave as good as they got at least in terms of exchanges, but lost out narrowly at the finish, missing the target by inches.
The Germans set a scorching pace from the start and scored off a nothing-situation when Witthaus found Zeller with a long hit from near the centre-line. Zeller managed to get his stick to the ball for a deflection into goal.
Nearing half-time, Witthaus went in on a Tibor Wiessborn pass and deftly flicked past the goalkeeper for the second-goal despite being sandwiched between two defenders.
Thereafter, the Germans survived a few anxious moments before they slammed three more goals in the closing stages with Hentschel, Witthaus and Biederblack joining the party.
