JPN vs CZE
PRAGUE – Sweden, Finland and Switzerland again gave nothing away to their opponents and took them apart, down to the last screw. At Sparta Arena, the Swedes defeated Belgium 20-1, and with three wins they head into the semi-finals as a group winner. As long as the Czechs do not waver against the Slovaks, Sweden will meet Finland in a Nordic derby on Saturday. The Finns tuned up their game for the important semi-final, and gave the Japanese another thrashing. Switzerland also finished the group stage victoriously, completely outclassing Austria.
The pairing for the contest for 7th place is now clear. It will involve the outsiders from the two groups, Austria and Japan. Everything else will become clear after the final group stage match, between the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The likehood is, however, that the Slovaks will play off with the Belgians for 5th place. The semi-final pairings are likely to be: Czech Republic – Switzerland, and Sweden – Finland.
The Nordic derby could be explosive, while the avid Czech hosts, driven on by their fans, will want to get through to the final. The Swedes got in some good shooting practice against Belgium, and some players registered plenty of points. The Nordic team whetted its appetite for Saturday’s decisive game of the tournament. The Swiss started out somewhat more tepidly. They pressed the Austrians back into their own half, but they did not take advantage of several clear chances early on. After the 10th minute, they got going and started peppering their opponents with goals. The final score, 22-1, speaks for itself.
(Source: OC)
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