Germany beat Japan 1-0 to secure their semi-finals berth in the Olympic women's hockey tournament Monday, where they are likely to face either China or Australia.

Janine Beerman produced the sole score against the surprisingly tough Japanese with a 40th-minute field goal. Japan end their campaign second from bottom in pool B with four points from the five matches.

Argentina - who crushed Germany 4-0 in the latter's sole defeat so far - were playing Great Britain in a later match to see who advances with the Germans.

China and Australia - both on nine points - were battling for a semi-final berth in a match in pool A along with the Netherlands, who are expected to secure their top spot in their final match, against Spain.

In an early pool A match Monday, South Korea earned their first points of the tournament with a 5-2 win over South Africa, who ended their campaign with no points - but at least having scored their first two goals.