Today’s action at the Spooky Nook Sports Complex saw Argentina beat Trinidad and Tobago 8-1 and Canada defeat hosts United States 4-3 in a shoot-out following a 1-1 draw.

The results set up a repeat of the 2013 final, which Argentina won 4-0.

Two-time winners Argentina claimed their win today thanks in part to three goals from Matias Paredes and two from Santiago Tarazona.

Ignacio Ortiz, Gonzalo Peillat and Marc Ganly all chipped in with one apiece as the South Americans took their overall goal tally for the tournament to 35.

Akim Toussaint scored Trinidad and Tobago’s solitary goal.

Canada were made to work much harder for their place in the gold medal match with Floris van Son’s shoot-out strike sealing their victory over the US after goalkeeper David Carter had made two crucial saves.

Gordon Johnston put Canada ahead in the eighth minute of regular time before Paul Singh brought the US back onto level terms at the end of the first period.

Victory for Canada has kept up their record of reaching every final in the competition's history. 

They defeated the US in 2009 but lost to Cuba in 2000 and Argentina in 2004 and 2013.

The US will meet Trinidad and Tobago in the third-place play-off.

It marks a repeat of the equivalent match from 2013, which Trinidad and Tobago won 3-1.

Both the final and third-place play-off are scheduled for Saturday (August 12). 

Today's results also mean that New Zealand have become the latest team to qualify for the 2018 Hockey World Cup in Indian city Bhubaneswar.

The Black Sticks finished in sixth position at last month's Hockey World League Semi-Finals in South African city Johannesburg, meaning they faced an anxious wait to see if that was good enough to earn them qualification.

Under International Hockey Federation regulations, the team that wins its continental qualifier automatically qualifies for the World Cup. 

If that team has already qualified by finishing in the top five of the Hockey World League Semi-Finals - as both Argentina and Canada did by coming second and fifth respectively at June's Hockey World League Semi-Finals in England's capital London - then the place is offered to the next highest finisher in the competition, which in this case is New Zealand.

Tomorrow is due to see the women’s event resume with the semi-finals.

Argentina meet Canada, while the US go up against Chile.

The battle to avoid finishing in last position will also be contested by Uruguay and Brazil.

In the men’s event, Chile meet Mexico and Brazil face Venezuela in the fifth-to-eighth-place play-off matches.