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Defending champions Germany scraped past plucky Argentina 4-3 in a Pool A match of the men's hockey World Cup match at the Major Dhyan Chand National stadium in Delhi on Friday night.
The victory took them to second place behind The Netherlands in Pool A with seven points from three matches and brightened their chances of a semi-final berth.
Earlier, The Netherlands hit six goals in the second half to blank a lowly Canada 6-0 and virtually booked a semi-final berth, while New Zealand shocked fancied Korea 2-1 to stay in contention.
In a battle between the top and bottom-ranked sides, the Germans withstood a late onslaught from the South Americans to emerge triumphant.
Germany, who were clinical in 6-0 drubbing of Canada in their second match, were unable to control the midfield and owe their success to their goalkeeper Tim Jessulat, who brought off many splendid saves, including a goal-line clearance in the dying moments.
Martin Zwicker (fifth and 14th minute), Matthias Witthaus (23rd) and Martin Haner (51st) scored for Germany, while Lucas Martin Vila (sixth), Matias Enrique Paredes (34th) and Pedro Ibarra (55th) were on target for Argentina.
The defeat put Argentina out of semi-final contention having lost their earlier two matches also.