Melbourne, Dec 3 : World and Olympic champions Germany brought title holders Australia down to earth with a 3-1 victory in the field hockey Champions Trophy here Thursday.

Jan-Marco Montag, Matthias Witthaus and Christopher Wesley gave the Germans a 3-0 halftime lead, with the Kookaburras only managing a consolation goal from Luke Doerner after the break.

Australia remained top of the table despite the first defeat in the fourth match of the tournament, but are now level on nine points with Germany going into the final round of the group stage Saturday.

South Korea are third with seven points after fighting from 5-1 down to a 5-5 draw with Spain thanks to the fastest hat-trick in tournament history from Nam Hyun Woo. The Netherlands have six points from a 3-2 victory over England, with Spain fifth on two points and England last with one.

The top two teams from the group stage contest the final on Sunday, with Germany and Australia record champions with nine titles each at the prestigious event. Spain and England will play off for fifth and sixth place.

Australia could have clinched its place in the final with a fourth straight victory Thursday, but three German goals within eight minutes settled their defeat instead.

Montag made the most of a loose ball in the 24th, Witthaus doubled the advantage three minutes later and Wesley chipped over goalkeeper Nathan Burgers for 3-0 in the 31st.

Doerner revived Australia's hopes by converting the only penalty corner of the game in the 53rd, but they managed no more goals.

South Korea, by contrast, scored four times in eight minutes to reverse their 5-1 deficit against Spain for a 5-5 draw.

Nam converted penalty corners for the hat-trick in the 56th, 61st and and 65th, and You Hyo Sik got the equalizing field goal with three minutes left as South Korea had another remarkable match after earlier wins over Germany and the Netherlands.

Robbert Kempermann struck twice to keep the Dutch alive with their victory against England, with the finalists to be determined on Saturday.

Given their superior goal difference, Australia will be through with a draw against Spain, and Germany may also only require a draw against the Dutch, provided that South Korea don't beat England by a huge margin.

The Dutch, for their part, must beat Germany and depend on the outcome of the other two games as well. (DPA)