MELBOURNE: Defending champions Australia, Olympic champions Germany and the Netherlands successfully launched their Champion Trophy campaigns with opening day victories on Saturday.

Australia blasted South Korea 4-0, Germany edged out England 3-2 and the Dutch saw off Spain 3-2 to stake early claims for the December 6 final of the top-six ranked teams’ tournament.

First-half goals by Australia’s Des Abbott and Robbie Hammond set up the hosts to run over the Koreans.

Jamie Dwyer and Abbott combined early in the second half to give Australia a commanding 3-0 lead before Eddie Ockenden added their final goal, six minutes from time.

It was Australia’s seventh win in 12 Trophy encounters with South Korea and positioned them nicely for Sunday’s game with the Netherlands.

The Dutch, eight-time winners of the Trophy, held off a fast-finishing Spain in the day’s final match.

The Netherlands brought some young and inexperienced players in a squad with an average age of 25.

Prolific scorer Ronald Brouwer and defender Geert-Jan Derikx are on holiday and will return to the Dutch team for the World Cup in New Delhi in February.

Nevertheless, the Dutch combination of Taeke Taekema, with 40 penalty corner goals at Champions Trophy tournaments, and captain Teun de Nooijer, boasting 406 internationals and 35 Trophy goals proved too much for the Spaniards.

Taekema converted a penalty corner in both halves and de Nooijer finished off a cross pass from Rogier Hofman after a 50-metre overhead pass from Taekema to Hofman.

Taekema’s double broke Pakistan’s Sohail Abbas’ record of 40 Champions Trophy goals.

Spain threw caution to the wind after Taekema’s 50th-minute goal and were rewarded with a spectacular goal to captain Pol Amat, blasting past the head of goalkeeper Jaap Stockmann’s from an acute angle.

Xavier Ribas converted Spain’s fourth penalty corner with nine minutes left to play but the Netherlands denied Spain’s efforts for an equaliser.

“They pressed us and it was difficult to keep control, but in the end we managed to do so,” de Nooijer said.

Reigning world champions Germany got their campaign off to a positive start against England, with the winning goal coming from captain Maximilian Muller four minutes from time.

Germany’s Christoph Menke opened the scoring, only to see his goal cancelled out by England’s James Tindall to leave the scores tied 1-1 at halftime.

Jan-Marco Montag converted Germany’s third penalty corner in the second half, but England equalised a second time through an Ashley Jackson penalty stroke.

Muller converted Germany’s seventh penalty corner to clinch the winner following sustained pressure.

In Sunday’s second round of matches, the Netherlands meet Australia, Germany face South Korea and England take on Spain.