New Delhi: 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.
Notwithstanding the fact that they are here with a young and relatively inexperienced side, with their consistency, the Germans have showed what it needs to rule world hockey.
Germany, who triumphed in 2002 and 2006, came into the tournament with only three players, Jan-Marco Montag, Moritz Furste and Matthias Witthaus from their victorious campaign in the last edition in Monchengladbach.
But it hardly affected their performance at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium and they approach the summit clash with an unbeaten record in the tournament so far.
Though without their main penalty corner specialist Christoph Zeller in the side, the Germans started their title defense on a cautious note with a 2-2 draw against plucky South Korea.
From there on they made significant improvement match after match, proved by their convincing 4-1 victory over an impressive England in the semifinal.
Under young Maximillian Muller's captaincy, the Germans have bettered their performance with every passing match.
PTI
First Published: Friday, March 12, 2010, 13:42