Hockey World Cup 2010: Day 9 Updates

The last league matches of Pool B were witnessed today. Australia and England have topped the pool in that order, and they both progress to the semi-finals. Spain will play for positions 5 - 6, India will play for positions 7 - 8, South Africa will fight for positions 9 - 10, and Pakistan will have to play and settle for positions 11 - 12. For more about field hockey, do read field hockey rules.

For previous day's happenings and standings, read:

• Hockey World Cup 2010: Day 3 Updates
• Hockey World Cup 2010: Day 4 Updates
• Hockey World Cup 2010: Day 5 Updates
• Hockey World Cup 2010: Day 6 Updates
• Hockey World Cup 2010: Day 7 & 8 Updates

Spain 2 England 0
Spain handed England their first defeat of the tournament 2:0, and in the process helped Australia to top Pool B. England will now play the semi-final with the team that tops Pool A, while Spain will play for position 5 or 6.

Australia 2 Pakistan 1
Australia won their last league match 2:1 against Pakistan. They top Pool B and will play the semi-final with the 2nd team of Pool A. Meanwhile Pakistan may have played one of their worst world cups ever, and they finished at the bottom of the pool. They will play off for position 11 or 12.

South Africa 3 India 3
South Africa managed to hold off India to a 3:3 draw. India will now play for positions 7 or 8, while South Africa will have to fight for positions 9 or 10. This is South Africa's best showing in a world cup.

Pool A Standings

Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points	GF	GA	GD
Netherlands	4	3	1	0	10	14	3	11
Germany	4	2	2	0	8	14	7	7
Korea	4	2	1	1	7	14	7	7
New Zealand	4	2	0	2	6	6	7	-1
Argentina	4	1	0	3	3	5	9	-4
Canada	4	0	0	4	0	4	24	-20

(Top 2 teams qualify for the semi-final)

Pool B Standings

Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points	GF	GA	GD
Australia	5	4	0	1	12	23	6	17
England	5	4	0	1	12	17	12	5
Spain	5	3	0	2	9	12	8	4
India	5	1	1	3	4	13	17	-4
South Africa	5	1	1	3	4	13	28	-15
Pakistan	5	1	0	4	3	9	16	-7

(Australia and England have qualified for the semi-finals)

Stay tuned for updates of the 3 matches to be played on day 10…
Germany vs New Zealand (Pool A)
Netherlands vs Korea (Pool A)
Canada vs Argentina (Pool A)

My predictions: Germany, Netherlands and Argentina will win these last Pool A encounters, thus allowing Germany and the Netherlands to qualify for the next stage.