Germany fails unhappily to world champion Finland
Stand: 05.06.2021
The chances were there, but the DEB selection missed the first entry into a World Cup final
What: REUTERS
The German national team made it exciting again at the Ice Hockey World Championship. This time, however, there was no late cheering. After the narrow defeat against world champion Finland, it is now about bronze at the World Cup.
Dhe performance was right, there were enough chances – but in the end the German national ice hockey team had to admit defeat to efficient Finns. The DEB team lost their semifinals against the defending champions at the Ice Hockey World Championships in Riga with 1: 2 (0: 2, 1: 0, 0: 0).
The tournament’s surprise team, which caused a sensation with their success in the quarter-finals over Switzerland, is now playing for bronze at the World Cup. Opponents on Sunday (2.15 p.m., Sport1) are the USA. It would be the first German medal at an ice hockey world championship since 1953. The subsequent final (7.15 pm) will be played by Finland and Canada, which the Germans had defeated in the preliminary round.
“The disappointment is very big. We wanted to become world champions, we were the better team, we gave each other a chance with lots of shots. But unfortunately we didn’t succeed today ”, analyzed captain Moritz Müller, who was already looking ahead shortly after the defeat:“ We have to tick that off now and attack again tomorrow. ”
Plachta shortened to 1: 2
An overpayment hit by Mannheim’s Matthias Plachta (32nd minute) was too little for the strong German team, who were too wasteful with their own chances. For the merciless three-time world champion Finland Iiro Pakarinen (14th) from Jokerit Helsinki and Hannes Björninen (19th) from Pelicans Lahti met. In the preliminary round, Germany had lost almost 2: 2 against the home of national coach Toni Söderholm, his assistant coach Ville Peltonen and goalkeeping coach Ilpo Kauhanen.
Despite dominance and a lot of commitment: The German team is now playing for bronze at the Ice Hockey World Cup
What: REUTERS
“Germany will be a very unpleasant opponent for the Finns today,” Söderholm said before the semifinals at Sport1. And in fact, the DEB selection was not only even, but better in the game than the favorite at the beginning. In the first third, she owned the bigger chances, but they went unused.
The three-time world champion came out of nowhere to take the lead. Ironically, the so far strong Niederberger made a mistake in a harmless shot by Pakarinen and let the target slide through his legs into the goal. Björninen even increased to 2-0 shortly before the first break, after a rebounding disc fell into the barrel after an unclean pass from Lukas Reichel to Moritz Seider. “The goals were really unnecessary,” scolded NHL striker Dominik Kahun. “I definitely think we’re the better team.”
Inside isser: Mathias Niederberger conceded the avoidable first goal
What: REUTERS
The fact that the German team acted at least at eye level without individual errors was proven in the middle section, in which Plachta scored an outnumbered goal. The German power play had previously been completely harmless in the tournament. There were hopes of turning a 2-0 draw against Switzerland in the quarter-finals. In the final third, Germany put pressure on again and was now overwhelmingly superior. A late compensation did not happen this time. “We had enough chances to score a second or third goal. But unfortunately we didn’t make it, ”said Leonhard Pföderl. “You could see that the Finns had a lot of respect for us. You played very disciplined. They are not world champions by chance. “
Celebrating Finns: The efficient and defensive Scandinavians are again in the World Cup final
Quelle: AP/Sergei Grits
Despite the renewed semi-final defeat – Germany lost 2-1 to Russia in Cologne in 2010 – the World Cup is already a success and confirms the Olympic silver medal in Pyeongchang. Söderholm, the successor to Marco Sturm, failed in his first World Cup as national coach with his team in the quarter-finals against the Czech Republic (1: 5) in 2019 and from then on had set the goal of trying to survive against the top nations in the future. Especially at this tournament, which under special circumstances rises in a bubble and without the absolute top stars due to the coronavirus pandemic, Söderholm had expected a chance of a surprise.
“It is getting closer and closer that a German national team will play a semi-final,” Söderholm said before the World Cup in view of developments in German ice hockey – and he was right. By moving into the semifinals, Germany consolidated seventh place in the world rankings, which are important for the World Cup schedule and Olympic qualifications, and increases its lead over arch-rivals Switzerland.
Now at least bronze should be produced – as a reward for a great tournament. “It’s not over yet. There is still something to win ”, reminded Pföderl. “We just have to go on like this and want to get the thing.”
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