Australia shattered Germany's dream of registering the first hat-trick of world titles in the history of the game, beating the double defending champions 2-1 in the summit clash of the Hero Honda FIH World Cup here today.

Defending champions Germany would be gunning for a historic hat-trick of titles while Australia would be eyeing their first in 24 years, when the two rivals lock horns in the final of the Hero Honda FIH hockey World Cup in New Delhi on Saturday.

Olympic champions Germany are on course of a historic hat-trick of World Cup titles as they scored a facile 4-1 victory over England in a high-voltage semifinal match on Thursday.

Mighty Australia continued their rampaging form in the tournament as they overcame a fighting Netherlands 2-1 in the second semifinal of the hockey World Cup in New Delhi on Thursday to set up a re-match of last edition's title-clash against Germany.

Defending champions Germany would look for an outright win against New Zealand in their last pool A match tomorrow to book a semifinal berth in the hockey World Cup here.