16,112 fans, the highest single-match attendance ever, created a noisy atmosphere in Prague’s O2 Arena. The Czechs equalized after being down by two goals, but Switzerland won 4–2 in the end.
Two teams, but just one set of medals to get. The Czech Republic lost their semifinals to Finland 2–7 on Saturday, whereas Switzerland fell down 4–5 against Sweden in a penalty shoot-out. Both teams met in the group stage already, where the home team won 6–4 after a hard battle.
The Czechs seemed to be slightly more active in the first minutes of the game and held the ball more on their sticks. Jiří Curney and Adam Delong had good chances but the Swiss goalie Pascal Meier made a pair of reliable saves. Switzerland survived the home team’s opening pressure and scored in the 9th minute. The Czech defense lost the ball in front of the goal and Deny Känzig scored into the partly opened net after a pass from Matthias Hofbauer.
Half way through the first period, the home team played a power play. But the Swiss players didn’t allow too much danger, killed the penalty and even went up by two soon. Nils Conrad’s pass deflected off Martin Kisugite’s leg right into the net. With less than two minutes left in the first period, the Czechs put themselves on the board as Josef Rýpar scored on a rebound. The home team was also close to equalizing, but Pascal Meier made a fantastic save on a Patrik Dóža’s breakaway to keep his team in a 2–1 lead after twenty minutes.
Switzerland had an interesting opportunity to go back into a two-goal lead early in the second period as they played a power play but the Czechs managed to defend this situation. For the next few minutes, both goalies dominated in the rink and made several great saves.
The home team leveled the score in the 34th minute after a straightforward attack. Patrik Dóža sent a quick pass to Tom Ondrušek, who beat the Swiss goaltender and the nearly full O2 Arena in Prague went into raptures. The Swiss team took the lead back 36 seconds before the break when Tim Braillard scored on a power play. So it was 3–2 for the defending bronze medal holders after two periods.
Switzerland doubled their lead again in the 46th minute when Paolo Riedi sent the ball quickly into the net. As the time kept going on, more emotions and hard tackles appeared in the rink. The Czech players did their best to come back but the Swiss defense stayed well organized and their goalie Pascal Meier was the hero of the match. Marek Beneš and other Czech forwards had good chances to score but the goaltender denied them all.
The Czech pressure culminated in the last four minutes of the third period as the team pulled the goalie Lukáš Souček and tried to play with six players. Twenty-five seconds before the end the home team even played a six-on-four power play but Switzerland didn’t allow any more goals and survived the pressure.
Just like at the previous championship in Latvia two years ago, Switzerland beat the Czech Republic in the bronze medal game – this time 4–2. The Czechs finished the home championship in the 4th place. The 16,112 fans, who attended this match and supported the teams, created a new single-game attendance record of the men’s world floorball championships.
Latvia Overcomes Norway after Penalty Shootout – 8.12.2018
Data Analysis: Czech Republic vs Denmark 10-1 – 8.12.2018
DAY 8: Battles for Final Start, Quarterfinal Losers to Fight for Fifth Place – 8.12.2018
Day 7 Summary: Favorites Sail through to Semis, Championship Again Offers Fantastic Atmosphere – 8.12.2018
Slovakia Takes 9th Place after Exciting Victory over Estonia – 7.12.2018
Finland Becomes Last Semifinalist after 6-1 Win against Germany – 7.12.2018
Canada Edges out Australia Thanks to Huge Comeback in Third Period – 7.12.2018
Sweden Advances to Semifinals after Beating Latvia – 7.12.2018
Poland Outclasses Thailand 9-1 to Grab 13th Place – 7.12.2018
Takizawa Scores Twice as Japan Beats Singapore 4-2 to Take 15th Place – 7.12.2018
Data Analysis: Group Stage Summary – 7.12.2018
DAY 7: Two Quarterfinals and Final Placement Matches on Schedule – 7.12.2018
Day 6 Summary: Czechs Easily through, Switzerland Stumbles, Attendance Record Broken – 7.12.2018
New WFC Attendance record – 6.12.2018
Data Analysis: Sweden vs Denmark 25-0 – 6.12.2018
Czech Republic Comfortably Wins Over Denmark to Reach Semifinals – 6.12.2018
Estonia Outclasses Canada 9-2 to Face Slovakia in 9th Place Game – 6.12.2018
Switzerland Gets Past Norway in Overtime Drama – 6.12.2018
Slovakia Beats Australia 12-3, Will Fight for 9th Place Tomorrow – 6.12.2018
Data Analysis: Norway vs Finland 1-9 – 6.12.2018