After a superior victory against France, the German national ice hockey team has reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup and is now meeting Switzerland there.
Germany defeated France 5-0 (2-0, 1-0, 2-0) at the end of the preliminary round on Tuesday (May 23, 2023) in Tampere, Finland, and secured fourth place in Group A with their fourth win in a row. Opponents Switzerland is in the last eight on Thursday.
“I’m happy for the team. They had the game under control for 60 minutes”said national coach Harold Kreis of ARD.
DEB team again in the quarterfinals
Düsseldorf’s Alexander Ehl (4th minute) and Daniel Fischbuch (44th), Munich’s Frederik Tiffels (16th) and Maximilian Kastner (54th) and NHL striker John-Jason Peterka (23rd) scored the goals for the selection of the German Ice Hockey Federation (DEB), which qualified for the knockout phase of the world championship for the sixth time in seven years.
Only in 2018 after the sensational Olympic silver medal did the German team miss the quarter-finals at the World Cup.
DEB to Riga? Uncertainty about the quarterfinals
According to the regulations of the World Federation IIHF, the German entourage must now travel to Riga, Latvia. According to the DEB, however, a different appointment is being considered. It is also possible that the Germans will be spared the trip on Wednesday. An official confirmation of the exact quarter-final fixtures for Thursday should not come until late Tuesday evening.
Successful against Switzerland three times in major tournaments
Against the Swiss, this year with eight NHL-players confidently first in Group B, Germany had recently prevailed three times in a row in important knockout games: in the quarter-finals of the 2010 home World Cup, in the 2018 Olympic play-off on the way to the silver medal in Pyeongchang and most recently in the 2021 World Cup quarter-finals as well in Riga.