Women's Hockey: England, Argentina clinch semifinal places

ROSARIO, Argentina — Argentina and England clinched spots in the semifinals of the women's field hockey World Cup on Saturday. Argentina defeated China 2-0 to improve to 12 points in Pool B with one match remaining. England defeated South Africa 2-1 to move to 10 points. In the day's other match, South Korea drew 2-2 with Spain, reaching five points but with no possibility of finishing in the top two. The Netherlands, Germany and Australia are the leaders in Pool A and all three have two matches remaining. Germany and the Netherlands, which have both won their first three, face off on Sunday. Australia with six points plays New Zealand and Japan plays India. Noel Barrionuevo and Luciana Aymar scored second-half goals in Argentina's 2-0 victory — its fourth victory in four games. The goals thrilled a home crowd of 12,000. Argentina has now won its past eight competitive matches since drawing with Germany at the 2010 Champions Trophy. Aymar scored a spectacular goal, beating four players down the left side before finding the net. "Today is one of the happiest days in my life and in sport," Argentine coach Carlos Retegui said "Lucha's (Luciana) goal was magical and I am incredibly happy with how the team played." Added Aymar: "Today's goal was the nicest I have made in my career." Helen Richardson scored twice for England with Pietie Coetzee getting South Africa's lone goal. "It is nice to get your name on the score sheet, but I do not care who scores," Richardson said. "This team has shown real grit and determination. We are not showing our best hockey yet." Silvia Munoz and Gloria Comerma scored for Spain, giving the Iberians their first point in the tournament. Kim Bo-mi and Cheon Seul-ki scored for South Korea. —AP