BHUBANESWAR: Olympic champion Germany knocked out five-time defending champion Australia 3-2 on Saturday to reach the Champions Trophy field hockey final.

Nine-time champion Germany, in its first final since 2009, awaits the winner of the other semifinal between India and Pakistan later Saturday.

Germany, which beat a dangerous-looking England 2-0 in the quarterfinals, scored two first-quarter goals against Australia through Timur Oruz and Mats Grambusch.

Florian Fuchs made it 3-0 for the new-look German team, which is here with seven players from the 2013 Junior World Cup squad.

Australia had been forced to try out new combinations due to the absence of four first-choice players, including star forward Jamie Dwyer.

Australia, which had beaten Argentina 4-2 in the quarterfinals, was dominated early on with Germany scoring all three goals by halftime. It finally scored off its third and fourth penalty-corners in the third quarter through Chris Ciriello and Nicholas Budgeon.

German captain Moritz Furste played a crucial role, making two goal-line saves during penalty corners and also setting up his team's third goal for Fuchs.

“It has been an incredible tournament for us because it is not easy matching top international sides with so many youngsters in the side,” Furste said.

“I'm proud of my team and how they played today. I'm confident of winning the tournament.”