It took more than 10 minutes for the deadlock to be finally broken in this quarter-final clash, but when it did, the flood gates well and truly opened.

Noel Barrionuevo's opener was quickly followed by Pilar Romang's second as the hosts began to turn up the heat in Mendoza.

Carla Rebecchi rocketed in a third on the 16 minute mark before Luciana Aymar added a fourth six minutes later.

Argentina's rout was stemmed just a couple of minutes later when Wang Mengyu flicked one past the oncoming Argentine 'keeper Belen Succi to instil a shimmer of hope for the visiting side, however, a second goal for Rebecchi restored the four goal cushion just moments before the half-time whistle.

It was even stevens in the third quarter as China's defence held strong, with damage limitation seemingly their recipe after the break.

This tactic proved futile in the final quarter as Rebecchi completed her hattrick after some brilliant dribbling by Delfina Merino.

A seventh goal came five minutes from time when Barrionuevo added her second of the night after smashing home a rebound from a penalty corner.

China rounded off the nine goal thriller with a consolation goal just minutes from the full-time whistle, but that did little to dent the Argentine supremacy as they move into the semi-finals on the back of that 7-2 thrashing.

Three goals in 10 minutes proved decisive for Australia has they thrashed Japan to book their spot in the semi-finals of the Women's Champions Trophy ©FIH



Three goals in the opening quarter put Australia well on their way to victory in their quarter-final duel with Japan.

Georgia Nanscawen's fourth minute opener, the quickest of any goal so far this tournament, was added to by a Jodie Kenny brace to place the hockeyroos firmly in the driving seat with just 10 minutes gone.

The periods either side of half-time provided no further break-throughs as Australia began to take their foot off the pedal.

This would prove costly in the closing quarter as Shiho Otsuka pulled one back for the defiant Japanese side to bring the cushion down to just two.

Anna Flanagan would restore the three goal advantage just minutes later as Australia reasserted their dominance to power through to the semis.

England's tournament took a further downturn in their quarter-final clash with New Zealand.

After leaking four goals to Argentina in their closing pool fixture, England's fortunate's yet again ran away from them as the All Stick struck on three occasions to run out 3-1 victors.

Rose Keddell opened the scoring on 11 minutes as she deflected in a Brooke Neal drag-flick.

England were back on level par just two minutes later when Laura Unsworth scored from a penalty corner, but this was to prove a highlight for the Commonwealth Games silver medallists as New Zealand upped the tempo.

The second Black Sticks goal came from the stick of Anita Punt, a well-placed penalty corner that just eluded Maddie Hinch, before Stacey Michelsen delivered the final nail in the coffin with a third on the 50 minute mark.

New Zealand put in a superb performance to secure victory against a strong England outfit in the Women's Champions Trophy ©FIH



It would take a special goal to separate The Netherlands and Germany in their quarter-final encounter, a challenge Michelle van der Pols was more than happy to accept.

With tensions running high after three deadlocked quarters, the Dutch star hammered home a cracking mid-air smash to send the orange army into bedlam and, more importantly, into the semi-finals.

Here they will face the tough task of taking on hosts and defending champions Argentina in what should prove a fascinating semi-final matchup.

The other semi pits New Zealand against Australia in a continuation of the fierce rivalry from Down Under.

Alongside the semi-finals, classification matches will take place to determine the team's rankings from fifth to eighth.

The first of these sees Japan take on England, while Germany face-off with China in the other.

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