Tokyo: Germany became the first country to reach the semi-finals in the Putra Hoki tournament after a smooth 3-1 victory over the Argentine Olympic champions in conditions such as a sauna at the Tokyo Olympics on Sunday.
Germany opened the scoring in the 19th minute when Lukas Windfeder defender fired a low and hard penalty angle on the left side of the goal, leaving Argentina goalkeeper Juan Vivaldi there was no chance to stop the ball.
Ten minutes entering the second half, the Germany added their superiority after playing another penalty corner with a beautiful variation that ended with Timm Herzbruch deflected a low bait from captain Tobias Hauke ​​into the goal.
Windfeder scored another goal again through the angle of the penalty, in the 48th minute, effectively securing a German place in the semi-finals and leaving Argentina with painful losses.
With eight minutes left to leave, Maico Casella Schuth scored from the penalty corner for Argentina, but they could not add their score.
Officers doubled the usual two minutes between the quarters to allow players to cool from the heat in the main tone of the Hoki Oi Stadium, which was sprayed with water during a half-time break to stay fast and smooth.
The victory gave German revenge on Argentina after being eliminated by them in the 2016 Rio Olympic semi-finals, when Germany had to be satisfied with bronze.
The Argentine Barisan in Tokyo still contains many names that bring their first Olympic gold medal country in Hockey in 2016: Pedro Ibarra, Agustin Mazzilli, Matias Rey and 42-year-old Vivaldi goalkeeper.