Captain Teun de Nooijer struck in dying minutes to lead the Netherlands to a thrilling 2-2 draw against defending Champions Germany in a Pool A hockey World Cup match and virtually booked a semi-final berth for his side on Sunday.

In the best match of the tournament so far the two strong sides entertained the sparse crowd at the Major Dhyan Chand Stadium with their fast-paced and quick passing game.

Just as it looked like the all-win record of the Dutch in this World Cup will be broken, Nooijer, playing in his fifth World Cup, found the German net four minutes from the final hooter.

In the much-anticipated clash of the titans, three-time champions the Netherlands got four penalty corners from which they scored once while Germany, gunning for a hat-trick of titles, had two.

With this draw the Dutch topped Pool A with 10 points -- from three wins and a draw -- to virtually take a spot in the semi-finals.

The Germans looked more dangerous and veteran Dutch goalkeeper Guus Vogel was tested on quite a few occasions

In the 43rd minute, Matthias Witthaus' fine effort from near the Netherlands right post just went wide after hitting the sticks of the Dutch goalkeeper Guus Vogels.

Next minute, Germany equalised with a gem of a goal with Oliver Korn just making a slight change in direction of a cross from the right by Christoph Menke by his stick inside a congested Dutch striking circle.

The Dutch could get just a few openings in the second half and form one such instance Ronald Brouwer's reverse stick shot from a difficult angle went wide.

Germany took the lead in the 63rd minute with Jean marco Montag making a diving deflection off a cross from the right by Tobias Hauke and it looked like they would run away with full three points.

Drag-flicker Jong Hyun Jang struck thrice as nimble-footed South Korea drubbed lowly Canada 9-2 in a high scoring match to keep their semi-final hopes alive in the hockey World Cup.

Jang scored in the 35th, 45th and 61st minutes while Hyun Woo Nam (23rd and 67th) and Hyo Sik You (41st and 63rd) struck twice each in the one-sided Pool A match.

Lee Nam Yong (38th) and Sung Hoon Yoon (40th) found the target once in the match, which saw second highest number of goals being scored in this World Cup, after Australia's 12-0 mauling of South Africa.

For Canada, who are already out of contention for a semi-final spot after losing all their earlier three matches, Philip Wright scored twice in the 42nd and 51st minutes at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium.

Bottom placed Argentina scored their first win of the tournament, edging past New Zealand with a solitary goal in their penultimate Pool A match of the hockey World Cup.

Facundo Callioni scored the all-important goal in the 55th minute of the match for Argentina, who are already out of semi-final race after losing their first three matches.

New Zealand, who have six points from four matches, will have to beat defending champions Germany in their last match on March 9 for any hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals.