Latvia bullied Finland until the end.
Finland did not convince in their opening match. Stock photo. EPA / AOP
The Finnish national floorball team narrowly survived the opening match of the World Cup against Latvia.
Finland won 4–3, and the winning goal was scored just three minutes before the end by Justus Kainulainen.
Sami Johansson was responsible for the blue-whites’ goals, Heikki Iiskola and twice hit Kainulainen.
Latvia ranks among the “big four” countries in floorball. It has finished fifth in the three previous World Championships.
11 of the Latvian players have played in the Finnish F-League at some point. The team is coached Heikki Luukkonen.
Finland is now playing its first World Cup under new head coach Esa Jussila.
Jussila has wanted to bring a more attacking and ball style of play to the national team as the successor of the defensively successful Petteri Nyky. In the opening match, however, the game did not flow at all.
The 2024 World Cup will be played in Malmö, Sweden. In the first group, Finland will face Slovakia on Sunday and the host country Sweden on Tuesday.
The western neighbor arrives at the Games surrounded by commotion, as the national team fired its coaches in November.