Australia reached the semifinals of the men's hockey tournament after beating the Netherlands in a dramatic penalty shootout in sizzling conditions at the Tokyo Olympics, joining Germany which booked a quarterfinal victory over Argentina.
Australia won its clash against the Netherlands after winning the penalty shootout 3-0, after the match had ended in a 2-2 draw in regular playing time.
The Kookaburras had pulled ahead twice in the game, thanks to goals by Tom Wickham, but the Netherlands managed to equalise through goals by Mink van der Weerden and Jeroen Hertzberger.
Germany cruises to victory
Australia will play Germany, who booked a smooth 3-1 win over Olympic champion Argentina earlier in the day.
Germany opened the score in the 19th minute when defender Lukas Windfeder shot a penalty corner low and hard at the left side of the goal, leaving Argentina goalkeeper Juan Vivaldi no chance to stop the ball.
Ten minutes into the second half, the German side added to its advantage after playing out another penalty corner in a beautiful variation which ended with Timm Herzbruch deflecting a low pass from captain Tobias Hauke into the goal.
By then, the Germans had little left to fear from the Argentineans.
"It's hot weather and hot-minded Argentina and we just want to keep it cool and play our German style and I think we did exactly that," said forward Christopher Ruhr.
"We had the game in our hands 60 minutes. A very mature play by us."
Windfeder scored another goal, again through a penalty corner, in the 48th minute, effectively securing Germany's spot in the semifinals and leaving Argentina with a painful loss.
With eight minutes left to go, Maico Casella Schuth scored off a penalty corner for Argentina, but it was not able to add to their score.
Officials doubled the usual two-minute breaks between quarters to allow players to cool down from the heat at the main pitch of the Oi Hockey Stadium, which was sprayed with water during the half-time break to keep play fast and smooth.
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