Day 7 Summary: Favorites Sail through to Semis, Championship Again Offers Fantastic Atmosphere – 08.12.2018

The Friday’s program at the World Floorball Championship in Prague was again very rich. A total of six matches in two arenas were on offer, with the most important battles being played at the O2 Arena, where the Nordic favorites, Sweden and Finland, advanced to the final. The Arena Sparta was again full to the brim and the fans watched final placement matches. The clash between Slovakia and Estonia, which offered an extremely thrilling spectacle, had a great atmosphere.

Singapore – Japan 2-4 (1-3, 1-0, 0-1)

Japan succeeded in the 15th place match. After an offensive first period they retreated back and built a defensive wall in front of their goal. The Singaporeans were better and controlled the ball almost all the time, but couldn’t break through the Japanese defense. The nineteen-year-old Eiji Takizawa, who plays at his first career World Championship, scored twice for Japan. So, the Japanese team ends on the 15th position, while Singapore ends up on the 16th.

Thailand – Poland 1-9 (0-5, 1-2, 0-2)

The Poles decided the match in the first period already, which they won 5-0, also thanks to three points by Michał Sieńko (1+2). In the end, Michał Sieńko became the Polish scoring leader at the championship with 10 points (3+7). The Poles then eased up a bit and allowed the Thais to get into the game. But at the end they moved up a gear again and secured their win with two more goals. Poland thus finished in the 13th place and Thailand in the 14th.

Canada – Australia 6-5 (0-3, 3-2, 3-0)

In the only previous encounter of the two teams, which took place in Sweden four years ago, the Canadians celebrated a 7-1 win. This time the fans at Arena Sparta were served a much tighter match with a breathtaking ending.  The Canadians were down by two goals after two periods, but managed to close the gap with two great shots. Moreover, in the last minute they decided about their victory as well as about the 11th position at the tournament.

Sweden – Latvia 14-1 (7-0, 5-1, 2-0)

The Swedes entered the match with vigor, opened the score in the 23rd second already and didn’t let anyone doubt about who will advance to the semis. Sweden scored seven goals in the first period already and kept adding more throughout the rest of the match. They led the game to a comfortable 14-1 win and will face Switzerland in the semifinals. Latvia will fight for the 5th place with three other teams.

Slovakia – Estonia 7-5 (1-3, 3-1, 3-1)

Both teams had quite big fan groups in the stands and the match was played in a great atmosphere. The game was rather up and down and the Estonians were closer to victory for most of the match. But the Slovaks didn’t give up, managed to level the score four times and in the end turned the score around with just two and a half minutes before the end. After winning 7-5 they ended in the 9th place, while Estonia takes the 8th position.

Finland – Germany 6-1 (2-0, 2-1, 2-0)

As expected, Finland became the last semifinalist. The result doesn’t look too convincing, but the Scandinavians had the entire match under control and comfortably led the game towards victory. Peter Kotilainen and Sami Johansson contributed to the win with two goals each, and Johansson also added two assists. Finland will therefore take on the Czech Republic in the semifinals, while Germany will fight for the 5th place and in their first match they will face Denmark.