The penultimate day of field hockey pool play in Paris saw Germany's women's team's playoff berth secured and the men's pool seedings solidified. Here's how it went down.
Women's tournament
Germany 4, China 2
Germany's women's squad opened play on Friday, beating China 4-2 to officially earn a knockout bid.
Germany secured its quarterfinal berth with an explosive first half that began with a ringer in the 12th minute from midfielder Nike Lorenz. Two back-to-back goals by forward Charlotte Stapenhorst made three unanswered tallies for a decisive German lead. Lorenz also scored a second goal in the fourth quarter.
Germany play Belgium on Saturday afternoon to determine the final positions in Pool A.
Netherlands 3, Belgium 1
Tokyo gold medalist Netherlands has nearly secured the top spot in Pool A after a 3-1 win over Belgium on Friday afternoon.
Technically, the Dutch could slip to second; tied for second place are Germany and Belgium, with 9 points each, meaning a win for either team on Saturday would put their point totals in line with the Netherlands' 12. Given the Netherlands has a goal differential of +10, however — compared to Germany's and Belgium's 7 each — the Dutch would have to suffer a heavy loss to fifth-placed Japan on Saturday to fall, as goal differential serves as the first tie-breaker in determining knockout standings.
The last quarterfinalist in women's Pool A will also be determined on Saturday when China play hosts France. If the Chinese win, they will lock up the last spot, while the hosts — with a goal differential of -14 compared to China's -1 — need to run up a big score to advance.
Japan, which has netted only once, could still make it out of the group stage with a victory against the Netherlands, while a draw would leave the crew relying on France to beat China.
Men's tournament
Germany 2, Great Britain 1
In the men's games, Germany's victory over Great Britain marked the last of the men's pool stage. With the win, the Honomas secured the top seed in Pool A.
Forward Christopher Ruehr scored in the 19th minute with a spinning strike under the lights, launching the ball from top of the circle to the top of the net. The 30-year-old also netted a second goal for his squad on a penalty stroke.
"What's most important is to now recover and then be on top of our game again because the tournament's just halfway through. Now it counts and we're ready for it," Ruehr said.
Netherlands 5, Spain 3
The Netherlands came back from a two-goal deficit to beat Spain 5-3 in Pool A. Trailing 2-1 at halftime, the Dutch found their fighting spirit after the break, relying on two goals apiece from Jip Janssen and Tjep Hoedemakers in the latter 30 minutes of the contest to grab the win.
India 3, Australia 2
India leapfrogged Australia to take second in Pool B with a 3-2 win, its first against the Kookaburras in the Olympics since 1972, as first-quarter goals by forward Abhishek Abhishek and skipper Harmanpreet Singh put the team on top.
Argentina 3, Belgium 3
Argentina drew 3-3 with the top-seeded Belgium side after Belgian forward Thibeau Stockbroekx drilled in the equalizer during a scrum in front of the net in the waning minutes to the roar of the crowd.
Ireland 2, New Zealand 1
Ireland's Jeremy Duncan opened the third quarter with the go-ahead goal that broke a 1-1 tie to grab the team's first win of the tournament.
South Africa 5, France 2
In another tournament-first, South Africa beat hosts France 5-2 to secure its first victory of the tournament.
In the quarterfinals, top-seed Germany will play Argentina, while the other top-seed Belgium plays Spain. The Netherlands will face off against Australia, and India will take on Britain. Find the full field hockey schedule here.