With Sweden and Denmark already assured of a place in the last four in the women's competition, the final two places were decided today and went the way of hosts Hungary and Greece.

Despite going down 2-0 to Denmark, the Hungarians scraped through in fourth place in the sole women's pool.

The other spot was claimed by the Greeks, who survived a late rally by Great Britain to secure a 2-1 win.

The day's other match saw Sweden thrash Belgium 9-1 and they now face Hungary, while Denmark and Greece square-up in tomorrow's other semi-final.

On the men's side, the day began with the final series of pool matches and saw wins for Poland and Ukraine in Pool A and Sweden and Slovenia in Pool B.

The first of the quarter-finals was another master class from the Israelis, who continue to be the form team in Budapest.

This time it was Denmark who were the victims, going down to a 13-3 defeat.

Sweden thrashed Belgium 9-1 as they remain gold medal favourites in the women's competition in Budapest ©Cseh Peter/MKSZ




It was also a one-sided affair between Sweden and Portugal as the Swedes secured a relatively comfortable 9-3 win, while Ukraine ended the interest of hosts Hungary with a 4-1 win.

Both sides will now clash in the semi-finals, while the all-conquering Israelis will take on Slovenia after they came through a thriller with Poland.

The match saw the lead switch hands numerous times, with Slovenia holding a slender 4-3 advantage at the break.

Early in the second half, the Slovenians had the chance to extend their lead from the penalty spot but missed, while Poland immediately went up the other end to equalise.

A two-goal salvo had Slovenia back in the lead followed by another strike apiece, leaving Poland trailing 7-5 going into the final few minutes.

The Poles rallied once again to peg the match back to all-square going into the final minute, but they could not keep the Slovenians at bay as they found the back of the net in the closing seconds to secure a thrilling 8-7 win.

The action in Budapest continues through until Sunday (September 28).

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