Bhubaneswar, India (dpa) - England and Belgium drew 1-1 at the Champions Trophy on Tuesday, making them the only unbeaten teams into the quarter-finals as hosts India finally came to life to stop the until then perfect Dutch 3-2.
In the other two group games, world champions and holders Australia also got their first victory, 3-0 over Pakistan, and Argentina prevailed 3-0 over Olympic
champions Germany.
No team was eliminated from the prestigious eight-team hockey tournament as the final group standings only determined the seedings for Thursday's quarter-finals.
There Group A winners England play Group B bottom side Germany, Group B winners Netherlands are up against winless Pakistan who ended last in Group A. Australia next face Argentina and India play Belgium in the knock-out stages culminating in Sunday's final.
England and the Netherlands had each won their first two games but failed to keep up the winning run Tuesday.
England's Iain Lewers cancelled out Belgium's ninth-minute opener from Amaury Keusters with a backhand in the fourth quarter on a humid afternoon but they did not manage to get a third win.
"To come away with a draw and be unbeaten in the first three games, it is a pretty good achievement," England's Tim Whiteman said.
"We might be disappointed we didn't create a few more chances but pleasingly, by the same token, we stopped quite a few at the far end."
England finished top of the group with seven points, and Belgium have five. Australia improved to four after Jeremy Hayward's double and Jacob Whetton saw them beat Pakistan 3-0 after an opening defeat against England and a 4-4 draw with Belgium. Pakistan finished on zero points.
"We just focused a bit more on defence and keeping the ball out of the net. Our basic skills were better when we moved the ball; our midfield had a lot of touches today and they created," Australia's Chris Ciriello said.
In Group B, the Dutch were stopped after wins over Germany and Argentina by the sport's former super power India who had lost their first games against Germany and Argentina.
Mink van der Weerden managed to cancel out India's early lead from Sunil Sowmarpet, but two goals in quick succession early in the fourth period from Manpreet Singh and Rupinder Singh saw India win in a packed stadium, despite a a late second from Van der Weerden.
The Dutch nonetheless topped the group with six points, on goal difference over Argentina even though the South Americans got their biggest ever win at the tournament from captain Matias Paredes and Joaquin Menini before half-time and a final effort Ignacio Ortiz in the 49th.
"It's a really good win, 3-0 against Germany - the Olympic champions. For us, it is really important to play games like this. We also beat them in the World Cup and so it's good to continue like this," Argentina's Facundo Callioni said.
Germany coach Markus Weise said: "It was disappointing from our side. Argentina had four shots on goal and made three goals. We struggled with their style of play."
Germany's defeat, coupled with India's win, dropped them to last place in the group, owing to an inferior goal difference compared to the hosts. The two had three points each.
In the other two group games, world champions and holders Australia also got their first victory, 3-0 over Pakistan, and Argentina prevailed 3-0 over Olympic
champions Germany.
No team was eliminated from the prestigious eight-team hockey tournament as the final group standings only determined the seedings for Thursday's quarter-finals.
There Group A winners England play Group B bottom side Germany, Group B winners Netherlands are up against winless Pakistan who ended last in Group A. Australia next face Argentina and India play Belgium in the knock-out stages culminating in Sunday's final.
England and the Netherlands had each won their first two games but failed to keep up the winning run Tuesday.
England's Iain Lewers cancelled out Belgium's ninth-minute opener from Amaury Keusters with a backhand in the fourth quarter on a humid afternoon but they did not manage to get a third win.
"To come away with a draw and be unbeaten in the first three games, it is a pretty good achievement," England's Tim Whiteman said.
"We might be disappointed we didn't create a few more chances but pleasingly, by the same token, we stopped quite a few at the far end."
England finished top of the group with seven points, and Belgium have five. Australia improved to four after Jeremy Hayward's double and Jacob Whetton saw them beat Pakistan 3-0 after an opening defeat against England and a 4-4 draw with Belgium. Pakistan finished on zero points.
"We just focused a bit more on defence and keeping the ball out of the net. Our basic skills were better when we moved the ball; our midfield had a lot of touches today and they created," Australia's Chris Ciriello said.
In Group B, the Dutch were stopped after wins over Germany and Argentina by the sport's former super power India who had lost their first games against Germany and Argentina.
Mink van der Weerden managed to cancel out India's early lead from Sunil Sowmarpet, but two goals in quick succession early in the fourth period from Manpreet Singh and Rupinder Singh saw India win in a packed stadium, despite a a late second from Van der Weerden.
The Dutch nonetheless topped the group with six points, on goal difference over Argentina even though the South Americans got their biggest ever win at the tournament from captain Matias Paredes and Joaquin Menini before half-time and a final effort Ignacio Ortiz in the 49th.
"It's a really good win, 3-0 against Germany - the Olympic champions. For us, it is really important to play games like this. We also beat them in the World Cup and so it's good to continue like this," Argentina's Facundo Callioni said.
Germany coach Markus Weise said: "It was disappointing from our side. Argentina had four shots on goal and made three goals. We struggled with their style of play."
Germany's defeat, coupled with India's win, dropped them to last place in the group, owing to an inferior goal difference compared to the hosts. The two had three points each.
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