Olympic silver medallist Belgium edged out two-time champions Germany 2-1 in a keenly contested quarter-final at the men's hockey World Cup here on Thursday.

In the neck and neck fight, third ranked Belgium held their nerves and came back from a goal down to enter the semi-finals for the first time.

Sixth ranked Germany drew first blood when Dieter Linnekogel found the back of the net in the 14th minute.

But soon Belgium matched the pace of their opponent through regular attacks. They found success in the 18th minute when Alexander Hendrickx restored parity.

The decisive goal came in the 50th minute when Tom Boon put Belgium ahead.

Belgium will face a resurgent England in the semi-final, who had defeated Argentina 3-2 in the first quarter-final on Wednesday.

--IANS

gau/ajb/sed

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)