In Pool A, Japan moved closer to securing a first place finish as the beat Poland 2-0 at the University of the Witwatersrand.

The Cherry Blossoms scored goals in the third and fourth quarters through Hazuki Nagai and Kana Nomura to remain in the hunt for top spot.

They enter Sunday’s (July 16) meeting with Germany knowing that victory would be good enough to guarantee top spot.

“I think we controlled possession very well although we probably didn’t open them up as much as we would have liked to," said Japan head coach Anthony Farry.

"The Germany match will determine where we will finish.

"We’ve got a fair bit of work to do ourselves before we worry about that too much.”

England narrowly beat the Germans 1-0 in the day’s final match with Jo Hunter scoring a superb penalty corner deflection.

In Pool B, the battle between the top two teams took place with Argentina defeating Pan-American rivals the United States 4-0. 

The victory cements their position at the top of the pool, which they are favourites to hold on to with just one match remaining against India.

Both sides cancelled each other out for the majority of the first two periods before Argentina took the lead just before half-time thanks to Lucina van der Heyde’s penalty corner.

They added two goals after the break through Martina Cavallero and Agustina Habif and a fourth from 18-year-old Julieta Jankunas, top scorer at the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games, sealed the win.

Elsewhere in Pool B, Chile silenced the home fans with a hard earned 1-0 win over South Africa to move in front of their opponents to occupy the fourth quarter-final position.

Manuela Urroz’s penalty corner two minutes after half time proved decisive.

Chile must now wait for the outcome of South Africa’s final pool match against the US before knowing if they have made it through.

The men's tournament resumes tomorrow.