German women's team secure quarterfinal spot, Dutch men and women win

The German women's hockey team beat China 4-2 in the first match on Friday to reach the quarterfinals at the Paris Olympics, while several fought over positions for the knockout stage draw.

A sea of orange blanketed both stadiums as the Netherlands men's and women's teams won and lead the Pool A standings.

The reigning champion Dutch women's team have nearly secured top spot after a 3-1 win over Belgium. They would have to suffer a heavy loss to fifth-placed Japan on Saturday to slip down.

The last quarterfinalist in women's Pool A will also be determined on Saturday when China play hosts France. If the Chinese team win they will lock up the last quarterfinal spot, while the hosts need to run up a big score to advance.

Japan, who have only netted once, could still make it out of the group stage with a victory against the Netherlands, while a draw would leave them relying on France to beat China.

Germany play Belgium on Saturday to determine the final positions in Pool A.

In the men's competition, the Netherlands came back from a two-goal deficit to beat Spain 5-3 in Pool A, with two players each scoring twice in the second half after the Dutch found their 'fighting spirit' at halftime when they trailed 2-1.

"We were a bit angry at each other because this is not how we want to play this, (it's) not who we are," Netherlands captain Thierry Brinkman said.

"We trained for three years, played really good hockey all over the world, and at this moment, the first half was terrible. So, we were really angry at each other, and the result in the second half was good. So, the reaction was perfect."

The Netherlands are guaranteed second place in the group while Spain are now fourth with the Germany-Britain evening game on Friday set to determine first place in Pool A.

India leapfrogged Australia to second in Pool B with a 3-2 win, their first against the Kookaburras in the Olympics since 1972, as first quarter goals by forward Abhishek Abhishek and skipper Harmanpreet Singh put them on top.

Argentina must win by more than two goals in their evening game against top-seeded Belgium to take second spot from India on goal difference. A loss or a draw would see them take the fourth spot in the pool.