Earlier in the day, Japan caused an upset of sort beating New Zealand by a golden goal, five minutes after the regulation time. One slot out of the seven available for the World Cup is to be filled. The winner of New Zealand-Canada match will grab that.

Any attempt at being eloquent at India's win today will be misplaced enthusiasm. There were patches when strain rather than fluency was visible. A good measure of credit to the outcome should go to the mid-field where left half Tirumalvalan was conspicuous. With every Indian move coming from this side, the role of Tirumal proved invaluable. It was an astute pass from him in the early minutes that paved the for India taking lead. Tirumal's forward pass put Baljit Singh Saini on the move. After ambling a few yards, Saini pushed the ball to Arjun Halappa whose blinding backhander surprised the usually alert Mike Mahoot.

Success in the early minutes pepped up the players. The frontline created more than one chance to increase the lead. A hurried hit by Gagan off Arjun Halappa hit the outside of the board. A long hit by Tirkey to Saini almost caught Mike Mahoot on the wrong foot. Tirumal immediately fashioned another chance giving Daljit Singh a splendid opening. Gagan picked it up well but Bipin Fernandes failed to provide the finishing touches.

The Canadians, rather unusually, were subdued, even sluggish in their mid-field workouts. Notwithstanding that, they managed to force two penalty corners, one of which from Casey Fergusen, hit the cross piece and spun away. However, this should not take away the merit in the performance of goal-keeper Jude Menezes when under pressure in penalty corners. Canada had two in the first and five in the second, and three in a row to which Jude Menezes succumbed to make the score 2-1 when 13 minutes of play remained in the second half. Rob Short was the scorer.

India by then was leading 2-0 from the early second half goal by Bipin Fernandes. Arjun Halappa prompted that opening to Baljit Singh Dhillon to dart in. A crafty pass from the skipper brought the goal-keeper, Mike Mahoot, to charge out, but Bipin Fernandes flicked it in amidst vociferous applause from a good number of Indian spectators.

Praise also is due to Bimal Lakra for his neat and effective tackles, and veteran Baljit Saini for his constructive work. Dilip Tirkey looked tentative, but Kanwalpreet Singh was more assured than in the previous matches.

The outcome clearly showed that Canada has been going through a lean patch here. The manner in which the team caved in against the Kiwis-the teams meet again on Sunday-in the previous encounter confirms this view. Individually, Bhindi Khuller, in defence, and Ronnie Jagday in the mid-field stood out. But the frontline lacked the velocity and power, the chief virtues of the Canadians.

Sadly, the Canadians not only lost the match but also were shocked out of their wits when confronted with a theft of their valuables left in the dressing room after the match.

Tobita nets winner

A golden goal by Naohiko Tobita minutes after the regulation time which ended 0-0, gave Japan a passage into the World Cup at Kuala Lumpur. Japan returns to World Cup competition after a gap of 28 years, the last appearance being Amstelveen (Holland) in 1973 when it finished first.

For all the dominance that the Kiwis displayed, the end result was tragic. However, there is a still a glimmer of hope if the Kiwis take the seventh place on Sunday. Prompted consistently well from the mid-field by skipper Simon Townes and pressured by the swift moving frontliners, Hari Bevan, Umesh Parag and Philip Burrows, the Kiwis held a whip hand right through. Two yellow cards in the first half to Simon Towns and Bevan symbolised a speck of desperation but after the resumption the Kiwis looked far more organised than the Japanese.

Special mention must be made of the good work done by Kiwis goal- keeper Paul Woolford. On quite a few occasions, he showed admirable reflexes and anticipation to thwart the thrustful attempts of Tobita and Asai on the left flank. He was confidence personified while meeting the penalty corner flicks from Yamabori. Only once was he beaten and that was during the golden goal phase when Tobita smacked in a shot from a pass by Asai. And that was an agonising end.

Argentina in final

Late on Friday, Argentina outmanoeuvred Belgium 4-2, earning the right to meet Spain in the title fight on Sunday.

Argentina's hero of the day was the elegant Mario Almada, who scored a hat-trick. Argentina led 2-0 at half-time.

Handicapped by the absence of the injured Vitali Kholapov, the Belgians had to endure many an anxious moment in defending its goal. The early forays of Patrick Gierts gave some hope of Belgium putting up some pressure, but Argentina wrested the initiative with Jorge Lombi flicking in a pass from Rodrigo Vila. Thereafter Argentina displayed more authority inside the circle, though the Belgian goal-keeper Vincent Deneumostier was proving to be a tough nut.

The trouble for the Belgian defence came in the shape of Almada whose nippy runs kept up the pressure. Almada enhanced the lead after goal-keeper Vincent had brought off a save from a drag flick by Jorge Lombi and within 10 minutes after the break, Almada hit in two goals for a well deserved hat-trick.

In the closing minutes, Belgium hit back to restrict the margin when Joeri Beunen found the target twice-the second from a penalty corner coming after the end of the regulation time.

Friday's result: Egypt 2 (Nagy Mohammud, Metwally) bt Bangladesh 1 (Ashraful Islam).

Sunday's matches: (3-4): Poland vs. Belgium (2-30 p.m.); 7- 8: New Zealand vs. Canada (5 p.m.); 5-6 Japan vs. India (5-30 p.m.); Final: Argentina vs. Spain (7-30 p.m.).