Germany thrash Canada in World Cup

NEW DELHI: Defending champions Germany toyed with lowly Canada 6-0 on Wednesday to record their first win in the men''s field hockey World Cup.

The Germans, looking to become the first team to win a hat-trick of World Cup titles, came back strongly after being held to an embarrassing 2-2 draw by South Korea in their first match.

The reigning Olympic champions pumped in four goals in the first half, three of them with penalty corners after Benjamin Wess had put them ahead in the 3rd minute with a field goal.

Jan-Marco Montag, Max Muller and Martin Haner fired in set-piece goals, before man-of-the-match Florian Fuchs sealed the emphatic win by striking twice in the second session.

Germany, who won the last two World Cups in 2002 and 2006 before underlining their supremacy with a gold at the Beijing Olympics two years ago, now have four points from two matches.

The 11th-ranked Canada, who lost to New Zealand in their first match, remain without a point.

The Netherlands and Argentina are the other teams in group A, from where two will advance to the semi-finals.