The second World Championship was hosted by the Czech Republic in 1998. The tournament took place from 25th to 31st May in Brno, where group A matches were played, and in Prague, which hosted group B matches and the play-offs. Sweden added their second world title, while Switzerland were a big surprise of the event. The Czech Republic didn’t live up to expectations.
The Czechs played in a very difficult group A, which also included Sweden, Switzerland and Germany. The Czech team defeated Germany easily 9-0, but failed to score in the other two games, losing 0-5 to Switzerland and 0-12 to Sweden. The Czech players, therefore, didn’t reach the semifinals. The Swedes won the group ahead of Switzerland, who accompanied them to the play-off stage. Their head-to-head encounter ended in a 9-0 victory by the Tre Kronor.
Group B was not that strong on the paper, with Finland being clear favorites in the group, which also included Norway, Denmark and Russia. The reigning bronze medalists from Norway didn’t live up to expectations, which Denmark took advantage of, seized the second place and qualified for the play-offs along with Finland.
The Czechs, in the end, didn’t even manage to win the consolation fifth-place game, losing 4-5 against Norway. The Czech team’s scoring leader was Martin Očkay, with an average of one point per match.
In the first semifinal, the favorites from Sweden faced Denmark. The blue-and-yellow players didn’t leave anything to chance and reached the final after winning clearly 11-2.
The second semifinal ended in a huge surprise as the match between Finland and Switzerland went into overtime and a penalty shoot-out after ending 4-4 in regulation. The Swiss players emerged victorious from the shoot-out and unexpectedly stole Finland’s tickets to the final.
The Finns then at least won the consolation bronze medals after beating Denmark 4-1.
Switzerland went into the final against Sweden with a vivid memory of a recent 0-9 loss from the group stage. And the Scandinavians again gave them no chance and won 10-3, dominating the historically second World Championship as well.
The scoring leader from the 1996 World Championship, Martin Olofsson, ended third this time. The individual stats were dominated by his teammate Magnus Augustsson, closely followed by the rising star and later one of the most prominent personalities in the history of floorball, Niklas Jihde.
DAY 4: Group Stage Culminating, Czech Republic to Face Switzerland – 4.12.2018
Germany Saves Czechs by Beating Latvia, Nordic Powers Post Convincing Wins – 4.12.2018
Sweden Dominates Norway to Get Easy 9-1 Win – 3.12.2018
Estonia Beats Thailand 11-4 to End Group Stage Unbeaten – 3.12.2018
Great First Period Secures First Victory for Finland – 3.12.2018
Great Defense Gives Australia First Tournament Win over Poland – 3.12.2018
Data Analysis: Latvia vs Czech Republic 4:3 – 3.12.2018
Impressive Third Period Pushes Germany to First Win in Prague – 3.12.2018
Zubir‘s Two Goals Help Singapore Beat Japan in Front of 6,341 Spectators – 3.12.2018
Data Analysis: Finland vs Sweden 4:5 – 3.12.2018
DAY 3: Program Starts with Asian Battle, Fans to See Two Nordic Derbies – 3.12.2018
Latvia Stuns the Hosts, Slovakia and Switzerland on Scoring Surge – 3.12.2018
Estonia Wins Evening Thriller in Arena Sparta – 2.12.2018
First Tournament Surprise as Latvia Beats Czech Republic 4-3 – 2.12.2018
Battle between Canada and Singapore Ends in First Tournament Draw – 2.12.2018
Switzerland Outclasses Germany 13-1, Känzig Scores Four Goals – 2.12.2018
Japan Enters Tournament with 1-15 Loss against Slovakia – 2.12.2018
Norway Turns Score to Get First Tournament Win – 2.12.2018
Data Analysis: Germany vs Czech Republic 5:10 – 2.12.2018
DAY 2: Twelve Teams in Action, Czechs to Face Latvia – 2.12.2018