ATHENS, Aug 23: World champions Germany fought back from the brink to enter the Olympic men's field hockey semifinals with a thrilling 2-2 draw against South Korea on Monday.

The Koreans, who needed a win to qualify, led twice in the aggressive group A decider through penalty corner goals by Lee Jung Seon, before fading away to end Asia's challenge in the competition.

Christopher Zeller drew level the first time just before the interval, before Bjoern Emmerling scored the crucial second equaliser four minutes from the end. Germany finished joint-leaders in the group with Spain on 11 points, but the Spaniards took the top spot due to a superior goal difference.

The defeat left the Koreans on eight points, fourth behind Asian rivals Pakistan who thrashed Britain 8-2 earlier in the day. Spain, meanwhile, encountered unexpected resistence from lowly Egypt before carving out a 3-0 victory to book their semifinal berth.

What was expected to be a romp in the sun almost turned into a nightmare as the Spanish struggled to get past the Egyptians, who had conceded 27 goals in four previous defeats.

After Eduardo Tubau scored the first goal in the sixth minute, Spain were made to wait till eight minutes before the end for their next success when Pol Amat converted a penalty stroke.

Tubau scored his second goal three minutes later as Spain finished the round-robin with 11 points. Spain's Dutch coach Maurits Hendriks was not surprised by his team's struggle against Egypt.

Pakistan, meanwhile, vent their frustration at not making the semifinals by running riot against Britain, six of their eight goals coming in the second-half. Sohail Abbas and Rehan Butt scored two goals each as Pakistan, three-times gold medallists, took third spot in group A.

New Zealand ensured a third-place finish in group B with a 4-1 demolition of South Africa. Hayden Shaw scored two goals and Dave Kosoof and Phillip Burrows one each to give the Kiwis their third win in five matches. South Africa finished the league with one win and four defeats. -AFP

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