HOCKEYArgentina defeated England in a top of Pool B

Argentina defeated England in a top of the table clash to confirm their place as the winners of Pool B on Day 9 of the BDO FIH Hockey World Cup in Rosario, Argentina.

A penalty corner from Noel BARRIONUEVO and a late strike from Daniela SRUOGA sealed a 2-0 victory against an England team that made their opponents work hard throughout the game. The win means that Argentina will face the runner up in Pool A in their Semi Final, while England must defeat the winner of that Pool if they are to reach the tournament final. Their opponents will be known when the Pool A matches are completed tomorrow.

Earlier in the day, China crushed Spain 6-0 with penalty corner expert MA Yibo netting four goals, while South Africa fell to a 5-3 defeat against Korea.

More information about today's matches can be found below, while full tournament information is available on the FIH microsite:http://www.bdofihworldcup2010.sportcentric.com/

Five in a row for Las Leonas

Argentina won their fifth match in succession to seal top spot in Pool B, battling past a resilient England team 2-0 in front of another sell-out crowd here in Rosario. Noel BARRIONUEVO opened the scoring in the first half with a trade-mark penalty corner flick before Daniela SRUOGA scored a wonderful reverse stick goal from a tight angle on the left of the circle. The defeat for England means that they will face the winner of Pool A in the Semi Finals, which take place on Thursday.

Both teams were treated to a deafening cheer as they entered the field, with the 12000 strong crowd dominated by fans of the host nation. Despite the support for the host team, England also appeared to be boosted by the atmosphere in the stadium, and frustrated Las Leonas for much of the opening ten minutes with some excellent tackling work in midfield. Eventually, Argentina took the lead when Noel BARRIONUEVO sent a hard flick beyond England goalkeeper Beth STORRY, sparking an explosion of noise within the stadium. It was BARRIONUEVO's fifth goal of the tournament. Although England were holding their own against the world number two ranked side, Argentina were creating the clearer goal-scoring chances and a superb save from Beth STORRY stopped Las Leonas from going into half time with a two goal advantage.

The only goal of the second half came in the 67th minute, when Daniela SRUOGA burst into the circle on the left before smashing a stunning reverse stick shot just inside the right post of Beth STORRY's goal. It was a strike worthy of winning any game, but Danny KERRY's England team will take great heart from a gutsy performance against a team considered by many to be the tournament favourites.