In the other semifinal Spain, who have relied on goalkeeper Ramon Dufresa and a devastating counter-attacking policy which had left the finest team in the tournament Pakistan out in the cold, face an excellent German side.

Australia, who won their only World Cup title in 1986, have been impressive throughout the tournament and the only worry for coach Terry Walsh is that the superb 3-1 defeat of Pakistan yesterday has taken too much out of his side.

"Yeah, there was a certain amount of tiredness creeping in with 10 minutes to go," Australian captain Michael York said. "However, I think that was more down to playing England and Pakistan on successive days but we will have recharged our batteries for the Dutch match," he added.

The Dutch, who benefited from two decisions by the Belgianumpire in their 4-2 win over South Korea, have not been as impressive and the 5-1 walloping by Germany in the pool match indicated that not even fanatical home support can bridge the class divide.

The Dutch also need to considerably tighten their defence and keep a sharp eye on the likes of Jay Stacy and the ever-improving Baeden Choppy on whom the Aussie hopes lie. The Dutch will look to Teun de Nooijer and Stephan Veen.

Walsh, who coached Malaysia before taking the present post at the beginning of 1997, is well aware of the impact the crowd can have.

"We'll be playing against 11 players and a sea of 15,000 orange supporters -- the only good thing is that they won't be able to come onto the pitch and play," Walsh said.

Germany, despite their strong showing in the league, including a 5-1 rout of the Dutch, will have their task cut out against Spain, undoubtedly the most improved European team. Their clash will be more tactical in nature with flair at a premium. The odds seem to favour Spain, who, withtheir tight defence and stunning breakaway attacks, are poised to make their second entry into the World Cup final. Spain had earlier made the final in the first World Cup (1971).

Saturday's fixtures (IST)

Classification: New Zealand vs Malaysia (1.35 p.m.); Canada vs England (2.35 p.m.); India vs Poland (4.05 p.m.); Korea vs Pakistan (5.05 p.m.). Semi-finals: The Netherlands vs Australia (7.35 p.m.) and Germany vs Spain (10.05 p.m.).