Australia and the Netherlands drew 2-2 Sunday in a matchup of unbeaten powerhouses in Olympic men's field hockey pool play. No goals were scored until the 55th minute, when Taeke Taekema scored the first goal for the Netherlands. Australia followed with goals by Eddie Ockenden and Luke Doerner in the next six minutes to take a 2-1 lead. Taekema drew the match on a penalty corner in the 70th and final minute. The teams had won the previous three Olympic championships. Australia took the gold in Athens with a 2-1 win over the Dutch in extra time after the Netherlands won gold in 1996 and 2000. Australia is ranked No. 1 in the world, while the Netherlands is No. 3. Both teams have now won three games and drawn one in Group B, and are likely to make the semifinals with one game left in pool play. In other action Sunday, Britain's Matt Daly scored in the 67th minute to give his team a 1-1 draw with Canada. A win would have given Britain (2-1-1) a chance to control its destiny; a loss would have meant elimination. Britain still has an outside shot; its best chance is a blowout win over Australia on Tuesday and a bad Netherlands loss to Pakistan. Canada (0-1-3) has been outscored 15-6 in pool play. Pakistan defeated South Africa 3-1 in Group B, but was eliminated from medal contention by other results. Austin Smith scored South Africa's first goal of the tournament in the 31st minute to draw the game at 1-1, but goals by Pakistan's Shakeel Abbasi and Muhammad Saqlain in the second half secured the win. In Group A, Spain, Germany, South Korea and New Zealand all still can qualify for the medal round. Spain plays South Korea and Germany plays New Zealand on Tuesday. Spain will make the medal round with a win. Germany defeated Spain 1-0 Sunday night. The Germans (2-2-0) gave Spain (3-1) its first loss in pool play. New Zealand (2-1-1) missed a chance to position itself to reach the semifinals by settling for a 2-2 draw with China. The Chinese (0-1-3) got two early goals from Song Yi and led 2-1 a halftime. New Zealand's Shea McAleese drew the game in the 54th minute. South Korea defeated Belgium 3-1. The Koreans (2-1-1) scored three goals in a five-minute stretch in the second half, including two by You Hyo-sik, to seize control. Belgium (0-1-3) led 1-0 at halftime on a goal by Jerome Dekeyser in the 20th minute.
