Friday, September 15 2006 13:01 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Monchengladbach: Olympic gold medallists Australia and the 2005 European champions Spain have the right credentials to start as odd-on favourites in their semi-final encounters in the 11th FIH men's hockey World Cup here today (15 Sep, 2006).

Australia would be looking to emulate their 1986 performance when they win the World Cup as they face Korea who would be playing their second consecutive semi-finals in this quadrennial competition.

In the second semi-final, Spain takes on World champions Germany in a repeat of the 1998 World Cup clash in Utrecht when the former wins 3-0 before losing to the Netherlands in the final.

Interestingly, of the four semi-finalists, only Australia suffers a defeat in the league when they loses their opening fixture to Spain before bouncing back in style to win their other four matches convincingly. In the process, the Aussies exhibited their awesome firepower that has seen them score 18 goals, the most by any team in the league.

Four years ago in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the Australians choked in the final after enjoying a great run through the tournament, losing 2-1 to Germany. It strengthens the belief that the Aussies lacked big match temperament, something that their coach Barry Dancer admits to.

"But the gold medal at the Athens Olympics in 2004 has helped our players to overcome this mental block, and the present bunch is keen to add the one trophy missing in their collection," says Dancer.