DAY 2: Twelve Teams in Action, Czechs to Face Latvia – 02.12.2018

The World Championship in Prague is entering the second match day today. Two teams in group B will play their first matches at the tournament – Denmark and Norway, as well as two teams in group D – Japan and Singapore. The home fans will have a chance to cheer for the Czech team in their second match.

Just like on Saturday, each arena hosts three games today. The second match day starts with the match between Denmark and Norway at 11:00 at the O2 Arena. Norway has traditionally been usually more successful in head-to-head matches, but it was the Danes who celebrated victory at the previous world championship. In the fifth-place game they overcame Norway 5-4 after the penalty shoot-out. Now the rivals are meeting at the championship again, this time in its earliest stage.

The Sunday’s second match at the largest arena in the Czech Republic will be between Switzerland and Germany from 14:00. Team Switzerland is traditionally a big candidate for one of the medals – a claim they already confirmed in their first tournament match on Saturday, beating Latvia 7-3 despite being two goals down in the opening period. On the other hand, the Germans might feel some fatigue following their match against the Czech Republic, which they lost 5-10 but gave a hard time to the home team. Last time the two countries met at the World Championship two years ago in the group stage and Switzerland won clearly 11-3.

The weekend program at the O2 Arena will be closed by the match between Latvia and the Czech Republic, scheduled to start at 17:00. Over 12 thousand fans arrived to watch the home team’s first match yesterday and they created a roaring atmosphere. A similarly great attendance is expected on Sunday too. Although Latvia lost their first match in Prague 3-7, they definitely didn’t give up easily to Switzerland. The Czech Republic, for a change, played a tough game against Germany, battling their way to a 10-5 victory in the end. At the World Championship in Riga two years ago the Czechs won the head-to-head encounter in the group stage 9-3.

At Arena Sparta the match program starts at high noon with the match between Slovakia and Japan. While the Slovaks started their tournament campaign with a high 12-3 win against Canada, Japanese players will play their first match in Prague. The last time both teams met at the world championship was four years ago and Slovakia won 9-4 in the group stage.

In the second Sunday’s match at Podvinný mlýn, Canada will face Singapore at 15:00. This is going to be Singapore’s first match at the tournament, whereas the Canadians already had to swallow a high defeat against Slovakia. Their head-to-head encounter from the world championship two years ago didn’t bring many goals and Canada won 2-1 in the group stage.

The last match on Sunday as well as of the whole weekend will feature Estonia and Poland from 18:00, i.e. two teams that won their opening games. Estonia entered the tournament with a high 11-5 win against Australia, whereas Poland overcame Thailand 5-2. The last encounter of these two opponents at the world championship back in 2012 ended in Estonia’s narrow win by 4-3 in a final ranking game.


World Floorball Championship – 2nd December:

Denmark – Norway 11:00, O2 Arena

Slovakia – Japan 12:00, Arena Sparta

Switzerland – Germany 14:00, O2 Arena

Canada – Singapore 15:00, Arena Sparta

Latvia – Czech Republic 17:00, O2 Arena

Estonia – Poland 18:00, Arena Sparta