Moenchengladbach (Germany), Sep 14 (DPA) Olympic champions Australia ensured top spot in Pool A with a 3-0 win over Pakistan while England beat South Africa 3-1 to finish fourth in the pool B behind the Dutch in the men's hockey World Cup here.

For the Aussies Tuesday, Bevan George struck a brace in the 14th and the 51st minute while Jamie Dyer scored the other in the 32nd minute to mesmerise the hapless Pakistanis.

It was a comprehensive win for England over South Africa, but not enough to help them qualify for the semis. The South Africans took the lead in the 10th minute off an Ian Symons strike from the penalty corner, but could not capitalise on it as England came back strongly to win the game. Richard Mantell scored twice and James Tindall struck once.

Australia will now face South Korea in the semi-finals Friday, who also ensured the berth after a barren draw with defending champions Germany. In the other semi-final on the same day Germany will take on Spain.

For Germany and South Korea a draw was enough to book a semi-final berth and knock out pre-tournament favourites Netherlands and neither side seemed too eager to risk anything throughout the 70 minutes.

Although there was no indication that the match had been fixed, both sides seemed content to sit back and see the clock run down.

Not surprisingly, many of the 9,000 fans in the stadium jeered the players as they left the field at the end of play.

Dutch star player Teun de Nooijer blamed the South Koreans for his side's elimination. "They did absolutely nothing in the match. A team like that does not deserve to be in the semi-finals."

Goalgetter Zeller defended his side's tactics. "Why should we put ourselves in danger for the Dutch. Of course it is really terrible for them. It was also not a good game for our fans, but we will try to compensate them in the semi-final."

Germany's coach Timo Peters did not want to answer questions about the Dutch. "I only want to speak about my side and they gained enough points to advance to the semi-finals. It is terrific that we are still in the running with such a young side."