SINGAPORE, 4 December 2023 – Finland and Switzerland secured their places in the quarter-finals of the Women’s World Floorball Championships (WFC) 2023 with their respective victories over Norway and Latvia on Monday (4 December). Finland, the WFC 2021 runner-up, overcame a tenacious Norway team 6-3 while Switzerland eased past Latvia with a score of 22-1.
Finland are top of Group A while Switzerland are second. The top two teams each from Group A and Group B qualify directly for the quarter-finals. The remaining teams from Group A and Group B, as well as the top two teams each from Group C and Group D, will compete in the first play-off round for a place in the quarter-finals.
Defending champions Sweden were also in action on Monday, winning 6-1 over Czech Republic. The world No. 1 return to the court tomorrow for their final Group B match against Poland, who fell 3-5 to Slovakia on Monday.
The results from Dec 4 are as follows
Japan v USA
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#21 Shiho Morinaga (2:58) #4 Rei Goto (4:39) #7 Amane Sasaki (10:12) #8 Mahiro Shimizu (12:57) #10 Rimi Motoki (18:31) #19 Yu Abe (24:22) #3 Yui Goto (36:38) #4 Rei Goto (48:33) |
#10 Klara Kyrk Gere (21:44) #2 Suzanne Lindquist (25:44) #25 Christine Lindberg (31:27) #10 Klara Kyrk Gere (34:11) #10 Klara Kyrk Gere (46:00) |
Japan’s fine form continued with their 8-5 victory over the USA in their Group D match on Monday. Shiho Morinaga opened the scoring for her team, and goals from Rei Goto, Amake Sasaki, Mahiro Simizu and Rimi Motoki saw Japan race to a 5-0 lead at the end of the first period. The USA scored their first goal early in the second period through teenager Klara Kyrk Gere. Japan’s Yu Abe then extended her side’s lead to 6-1, and their opponents responded by ramping up their attack to net three goals through Suzanne Lindquist, Christine Lindberg and Kyrk Gere. The latter proved her status as USA’s Player of The Match by scoring her third goal of the game to narrow the score to 7-5, but another goal from Japan’s Rei Goto sealed the 8-5 victory. Japan’s next opponents are Estonia, and the USA will next face Denmark.
Denmark v Estonia
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#7 Sille Larsen (04:42) #9 Lina Voldby (07:21) #9 Lina Voldby (10:05) #7 Sille Larsen (16:20) #17 Frida Josefine Keller (32:56) #3 Marie Abildgaard (39:13) #13 Martina Morch (58:07) |
#7 Edith Parnik (19:34) #17 Nelli Alanko (20:44) #7 Edith Parnik (28:05) #7 Edith Parnik (49:01) |
Denmark earned their first WFC 2023 win after a hard-fought battle with Estonia. Denmark asserted their dominance from the beginning, making 18 attempts and converting four of them to lead 4-0 after 16 minutes. Estonia pulled one back just before the interval before carrying their momentum into the
next period, reducing the deficit to just one after 28 minutes. It was the wake-up call Denmark needed as they tightened their defence and went into attack mode, scoring two more goals to widen the gap again. Estonian forward Edith Parnik completed.
Poland v Slovakia
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#22 Gabriela Wojcik (24:56) #13 Katarzyna Rajska (41:25) #7 Malwina Zagorska (50:09) |
#61 Kristina Belicova (1:48) #30 Paulina Hudakova (7:41) (Penalty) #13 Dominique Schnetzer (33:16) #6 Laura Chupekova (39:09) #26 Jana Troskova (52:34) |
Slovakia have put themselves in the running to reach the last eight of the WFC 2023 with a 5-3 win over Poland. Both teams employed aggressive attacks but it was Slovakia who never took their foot off the pedal. They led 2-0 after the first period and extended their lead to 4-1 before enduring a nervy end to the game when Poland threw everything they had at their opponents. Slovakian goalkeeper Radka Mladenkova starred for her team, preserving her side’s lead with a 92.86 save percentage. Slovakia will be looking to improve on their sixth-place finish at the last WFC but will need to put on a more convincing display against world No. 4 Czech Republic in the final Group B match on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Poland face defending champions and world No. 1 Sweden.
Czech Republic v Sweden
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#19 Karolina Klubalová (13:05) |
#10 Cajsa Elm (14:44) #3 Amanda Delgado Johansson (25:34) #26 Emelie Wibron (35:10) #16 Moa Gustafsson (37:13) #15 Ellen Backstedt (51:41) #16 Moa Gustafsson (59:52) |
Defending champions Sweden survived an early scare to prevail 6-1 over Czech Republic in their Group B clash. The fourth-ranked Czech Republic drew first blood through Karolina Klubalová, only for their opponents to equalise less than two minutes later after Cajsa Elm scored. With the score locked at 1-1 entering the second period, both teams continued to pressure each other until Sweden edged ahead with Amanda Delgado Johansson scoring a goal in the 26th minute. Johansson later flicked a corner pass to a waiting Emelle Wibron, who swatted it firmly to give Sweden a 3-1 advantage. There was no looking back for the world No. 1 team, who consolidated their lead and tightened their defence to secure their second win of the WFC 2023. Sweden face Poland in their final group stage match on Tuesday, while Czech Republic take on Slovakia.
Finland v Norway
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#26 Sofia Leino (6:14) #28 Veera Kauppi (11:45) #8 Laura Rantanen (19:49) #13 Meri-Helmi Hoynala (39:26) #61 Emilia Pietila (43:36) #15 Miisa Turunen (52:33) |
#26 Nicoline Marie Karlsen Olsen (12:16) #7 Tone Einstulen (37:14) #2 Rikke Ingebrigtsli Hansen (40:43) |
Finland defeated Norway 6-3 to finish top in Group A and clinch a spot in the quarter-finals. But their unbeaten run in the group stage was not without contest, as the 2021 WFC runner-up had to fend off a gutsy challenge from Norway on Monday. Finland concluded the first period with a 3-1 lead thanks to goals from Player of the Match Sofia Leino, Veera Kauppi and Laura Rantanen, but their opponents fired back in the second period with Tone Einstulen scoring. A goal from Meri-Helmi Hoynala gave Finland the chance to move further ahead, but Norway’s Rikke Ingebrigtsli Hansen scored 43 seconds into the third period to narrow the gap again. Still, Finland remained unfazed and relentless in their attack, and they were rewarded with two more goals from Emilia Pietila and Miisa Turunen.
Latvia v Switzerland
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#95 Anna Ankudinova (47:54) |
#27 Nina Metzger (1:18) #21 Corin Ruttimann (2:20) #16 Luana Rensch (6:21) #2 Leonie Wieland (9:17) #26 Nathalie Spichiger (9:31) #11 Selma Bergmann (12:52) #17 Isabelle Gerig (16:34) #17 Isabelle Gerig (20:36) #10 Celine Stettler (22:15) #26 Nathalie Spichiger (27:46) #17 Isabelle Gerig (30:19) #17 Isabelle Gerig (35:34) #21 Corin Ruttimann (40:27) #17 Isabelle Gerig (44:53) #27 Nina Metzger (46:54) #84 Anja Wyss (52:38) #17 Isabelle Gerig (53:42) #2 Leonie Wieland (56:25) #14 Lea Hanimann (57.15) #21 Corin Ruttimann (58:38) #14 Lea Hanimann (59:50) #27 Nina Metzger (59:59) |
Switzerland secured their quarter-final spot with an emphatic trouncing of Latvia in the final Group A match. They took just 78 seconds to get going and ran riot to amass a 7-0 lead after the first period before extending it to 12-0 at the next interval. A solid defence saw them limiting Latvia to just one attempt in the first two periods. Despite the big score line, WFC 2021 bronze medallists Switzerland did not let up, racking up the scoreboard and finishing with a flourish with two goals in the last 10 seconds. The Swiss are second with four points behind the unbeaten Finland (six points), followed by Czech Republic (two) and Latvia (zero). For a chance to reach the last eight, Czech Republic and Latvia will face the top two teams of Group D in the play-offs on Wednesday.
Tickets are available at https://www.sistic.com.sg/events/wfc2023. More match updates are available at https://app.floorball.sport/leagueorganizer/Magazine/92#/leagueorganizersite/92/start.
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