The German national ice hockey team got in the mood for the third group game against France (7:20 p.m./Sport1 and MagentaSport) at the World Cup in Finland by serenading birthday boy Matthias Plachta.
The singing was “short and funny”, said Plachta, who scored against defending champion Canada (3: 5) on Friday and against Olympic bronze medalist Slovakia (2: 1) on Saturday, on his 31st birthday after training in Helsinki.
“We haven’t started yet, maybe we’ll do that after the game today, then we’ll have two days off,” added the man from Mannheim, focusing directly on the game against outsiders France: “It’s an opponent who works very hard and is up for it Error awaits. We just have to play our game and be patient.” The Berlin master striker Marcel Noebels warned: “The game is not as easy as you think.”
After the 4-2 defeat against Slovakia, Russia’s second-placed side France clinched their first win with a 2-1 duel against Kazakhstan on Sunday. It is important “that we remain patient and are physically ready for the duels,” said national coach Toni Söderholm: “If we go in with the same team spirit as in the last game, then we have a good chance of beating them.”