Moenchengladbach (Germany), Sep 13 (DPA) Australia became the first team to ensure a berth in the semi-finals of the men's hockey World Cup with a 7-1 hammering of New Zealand Tuesday.
The victory took the Olympic champions to 9 points at the top of Pool A where they will finish at least second.
Jamie Dwyer got Australia off to a perfect start after just two minutes, but New Zealand were back on level terms after 20 minutes through Mitesh Patel.
Michael McCann put Australia back ahead on 26 in what was to be the start of a goal rush, with Troy Elder (32), Matthew Naylor (49), Travis Brooks (55), Dwyer (64) and Luke Doerner (66) all on target.
Later in the pool, Japan were meeting Argentina in a match with no bearing on the semi-final places. They will be decided Wednesday when Spain, currently second on 8 points, play Japan, and Pakistan, on 5 points, come up against Australia.
Later Tuesday, hosts Germany were to play South Africa, and India were meeting the Netherlands in Pool B matches.