Second quarter-final of the day opposed top-ranked Canada to Italy, the good surprise of the competition so far with excellent performances. Canadian captain Scott Tupper was honored before the match for his 200th International Cap, a remarkable milestone.

Italy survived a hot situation in front of their keeper Francesco Padovani in the opening minutes of the match, then Canada obtained a penalty-corner, upgraded to a penalty-stroke after a defender stopped the ball with his foot on the line. Scott Tupper made no mistake from the spot, giving Canada an early lead.

Canada dominated play but could not further finalize their actions, kept at bay by the disciplined and compact Italian defense. It is only in the 24th minute that Gabriel Ho-Garcia forced another penalty-corner after a 50-meter run and a decisive circle penetration, and Scott Tupper doubled his tally for the day to give some breathing space to Canada.

Tempters got somewhat heated at the end of the period and both teams played short for a while, but no more goals were scored and half-time was reached with a meagre two-goal lead for the North Americans.

Same pattern prevailed in third quarter, with Canada dominating the proceedings but rushing their passes, or shots on goals, thus keeping Italy very much within striking distance. The quarter ended with unchanged scoreline and Italia getting more daring around the Canadian circle, although Dave Carter in the Canadian goal was never in pressing danger.

Canada kept control the game in the last quarter but certainly did put any urgency in their play and did not generate many opportunities. They could not take advantage of a rare penalty-corner and finally scored their third goal in the 56th minute by Brenden Bissett at the end of a quick exchange of passes in the Italian circle.

Scott Tupper, celebrating in style his milestone Cap, completed a hat-trick in the final action of the match at the end of counter-attack that swept the whole pitch and Canada seemed happy with the 4-0 win that qualified them for the semi-finals against Ireland, although they will certainly have to work harder if they want to advance further in the competition.