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Olympic champion the Netherlands overcame an early deficit to hold England to a 2-2 draw in its final Stage 2 match, retaining the top position in the group and advancing to the semifinals unbeaten.
England, which lost to Argentina in its opening Stage 2 match, needed a victory to progress. However, it fell short as the decisive encounter ended in a draw.
Argentina secured the other semifinal berth from the group following an emphatic 5-3 victory over India earlier in the day.
England and India will now compete in the classification matches for fifth through eighth places, alongside Belgium and Australia.
England started strongly and took an early lead, but maintaining an advantage against the Netherlands proved difficult. Playing before a nearly packed Wagener Stadium, the Dutch capitalized on their opportunities to erase the deficit and move ahead through a brilliant third-quarter goal from veteran Thierry Brinkman.
England created several chances, including penalty corners, but initially struggled to break down the Dutch defense. Its breakthrough came from a penalty corner in the 48th minute, when a well-executed indirect conversion left the Dutch defense unable to respond and restored parity at 2-2.
With the teams level, the match gathered momentum and entered a decisive phase, producing an entertaining display of attacking hockey.
Encouraged by the equalizer, England withdrew its goalkeeper and brought on Wallace as an additional outfield player in an effort to break the deadlock and secure the victory it needed to reach the semifinals. The Netherlands, however, held firm to preserve the draw.
The Netherlands, Argentina, Germany and Spain have qualified for the semifinals.
