The first big surprise of the tournament came on Sunday evening at the O2 Arena when Latvia defeated the home team of the Czech Republic 4-3, making their way through the tournament significantly more complicated. On the other hand, Slovakia and Switzerland outclassed their opponents by a large margin. The Slovaks demolished Japan 15-1, while Switzerland thrashed Germany 13-1. The tournament also saw its first draw – the match between Canada and Singapore ended 4-4.
Denmark – Norway 3-9 (3-2, 0-5, 0-2)
The Sunday’s program started with the match between Denmark and Norway. For both of these traditional rivals it was their first game at this year’s championship. The Danes were in a narrow one-goal lead after the first period and could think about a good result. But from the second period Norway clearly dominated, turned the score around with seven goals and led the match to a sweeping victory. Ole Mossin Olesen excelled with five points for two goals and three assists, while his teammate Markus Lindgjerdet scored a hat-trick and added one assist.
Slovakia – Japan 15-1 (7-0, 4-0, 4-1)
The Slovaks burst into their second championship match in high style, just like they did in the first one. With just four minutes into the game they were up by four goals and kept increasing their lead. The only blot on their crushing victory was the only goal by the Japanese players, who didn’t start the tournament in the best of ways. As many as three Slovaks scored a a hat-trick in the match – Dudovič, Ujhelyi and Čonka-Skyba.
Switzerland – Germany 13-1 (4-0, 3-0, 6-1)
Germany showed a great performance in their opening match against the Czech Republic and for sure planned to repeat it today as well. But Switzerland didn’t allow any complications and completely smashed their opponents. Four Swiss players posted their first career points at the Men’s World Championships, with the best of them, the nineteen-year-old Deny Känzig, recording as many as 6 points (4+2). The Swiss goalie Patrick Eder could have experienced an absolutely flawless Men’s World Championship debut too. He was only 3.5 minutes away from a shutout, but conceded a power-play goal by Erik Schuschwary.
Canada – Singapore 4-4 (1-2, 1-2, 2-0)
Fans of aggressive floorball had a field day. There were a total of ten penalties awarded, including three five-minute penalties. In the first period, Kuysten of Canada even saw a red card! But Singapore didn’t manage to convert any of their power-plays, whereas team Canada scored three times in the one-man advantage, which helped them level the score. On each side there was one player who scored two goals – Juin Jie Ng for Singapore and Valtteri Viitakoski for Canada.
Latvia – Czech Republic 4-3 (0-1, 3-1, 1-1)
Following their unconvincing performance in the match against Germany, the Czechs wanted to prove they are still one of the world’s top floorball teams. But they didn’t succeed. And we can’t say it was undeserved. It was an absolutely tight game for two periods and only in the third the Latvians focused purely on defense whereas the Czechs were setting the pace of the match. However, it was in the third period when the decisive Latvian goal was scored. Atis Stepans’s accurate shot from a quick breakaway found the top corner of the net. The duo Ondrušek (2+1) and Delong (1+2) were involved in all Czech goals.
Estonia – Poland 4-3 (0-1, 2-1, 2-1)
The last match of the first weekend offered a tough battle between Estonia and Poland. Both teams presented themselves with a fierce and well-organized defense supported by great saves of their goalies. In the course of time, Poland built a two-goal lead, but Estonia fought back and leveled the score at 2-2 before the second intermission. In the third period, Lukasz Chlebda completed a hat-trick and sent the Poles into the lead one more time. But the Estonians set the alarm bells ringing and managed to turn the score around. In the final minutes they resisted a crushing Polish pressure and celebrated a 4-3 win.
Latvia Overcomes Norway after Penalty Shootout – 8.12.2018
Data Analysis: Czech Republic vs Denmark 10-1 – 8.12.2018
DAY 8: Battles for Final Start, Quarterfinal Losers to Fight for Fifth Place – 8.12.2018
Day 7 Summary: Favorites Sail through to Semis, Championship Again Offers Fantastic Atmosphere – 8.12.2018
Slovakia Takes 9th Place after Exciting Victory over Estonia – 7.12.2018
Finland Becomes Last Semifinalist after 6-1 Win against Germany – 7.12.2018
Canada Edges out Australia Thanks to Huge Comeback in Third Period – 7.12.2018
Sweden Advances to Semifinals after Beating Latvia – 7.12.2018
Poland Outclasses Thailand 9-1 to Grab 13th Place – 7.12.2018
Takizawa Scores Twice as Japan Beats Singapore 4-2 to Take 15th Place – 7.12.2018
Data Analysis: Group Stage Summary – 7.12.2018
DAY 7: Two Quarterfinals and Final Placement Matches on Schedule – 7.12.2018
Day 6 Summary: Czechs Easily through, Switzerland Stumbles, Attendance Record Broken – 7.12.2018
New WFC Attendance record – 6.12.2018
Data Analysis: Sweden vs Denmark 25-0 – 6.12.2018
Czech Republic Comfortably Wins Over Denmark to Reach Semifinals – 6.12.2018
Estonia Outclasses Canada 9-2 to Face Slovakia in 9th Place Game – 6.12.2018
Switzerland Gets Past Norway in Overtime Drama – 6.12.2018
Slovakia Beats Australia 12-3, Will Fight for 9th Place Tomorrow – 6.12.2018
Data Analysis: Norway vs Finland 1-9 – 6.12.2018