Dutch beat Argentina to reach sixth straight women's Olympic hockey final

The Dutch have reached every final since missing out at the 2000 Sydney Games, when they finished with a second consecutive bronze, and have a chance to make history for the country if both women's and men's teams win gold for the hockey powerhouse.

"We have nine girls that have never played in the Olympics. The beauty of Dutch hockey is that we can continue keeping up talent with the new generations," said coach Paul van Ass.

"If the unforced errors are not there, then we usually can be very strong. And then it looks easy. But yeah, Roger Federer also looked always easy when he was good, right?"

Belgium and China meet in the second semi later on Wednesday to determine who faces the world's top-ranked side, who will be playing in their sixth consecutive final, after both lost to the Dutch in the pool stage having conceded three goals.

Argentina, who were beaten by the Netherlands in the final in Tokyo, now have a chance to win their third bronze.

Netherlands opened the scoring in the 21st minute when midfielder Fokke slipped behind the defense on a deep pass and dribbled into the circle to beat keeper Cristina Consentino stick-side, lofting the ball into the right corner of the net.

The Dutch scored a second five minutes later when Laura Nunnink redirected a hard cross from Fokke past Consentino's outstretched leg.

"It's nice to just play good hockey and scoring a goal is like an amazing feeling," Fokke said.

"We are expecting a competitive final. We will watch tonight and then prepare our game. It's a final so there's a lot of tension."

The tournament's leading scorer, midfielder Yibbi Jansen, piled on the pressure in the 35th minute with a penalty corner score, her eighth in Paris. Belgium's Ambre Ballenghien is the second highest scorer with six, all from the field.