The Black Sticks will play table-toppers the Netherlands in a Champions Trophy quarter-final in Melbourne tomorrow.
Despite a 1-1 draw with England yesterday (Tue) the Blacks Sticks finished bottom of Pool A which forced them into a match against the top team in Pool B in the cross-over quarter-final.
The Netherlands consolidated top spot after their 5-4 win over Belgium. Australia could have leapfrogged to No1 if they had beaten Pakistan by a margin of two goals or more, but managed only a 1-0 victory.
New Zealand now faces the daunting task of beating the London Olympic silver medallists at 5pm NZT tomorrow to progress.
Champions Trophy quarter-finals:
Germany v Pakistan
Netherlands v New Zealand
India v Belgium
Australia v England
