In the end, the German ice hockey team took the goalkeeper off the ice and tried to force him into the much-needed second goal against Finland by a six-to-five margin. But although the Germans were able to hold the disc in third for the Finn for more than a minute and reached some good finishing touches, the disc didn’t want to get in. After all, the frustrated DEB had to admit defeat to the world champion in the World Cup semi-finals with 1:2 (0:2, 1:0, 0:0). Had they made it to the final, the Germans would have taken a world championship medal for the first time in 68 years.

Olkinuora Strong Support

In their penultimate World Cup appearance in Latvia, Germany played a good match and had better chances and above all more than the slightly favorite team from Finland. However, the Finns were ruthlessly effective: with their first two shots on goal, they scored two goals in the first third. Top scorers were Eero Bakarinen (min 14) and Hans Bjornenen (19). In the second third, played by the German team coached by Finnish national coach Toni Soderholm, Matthias Plachta scored an extra goal and gave hope again (32). But the strong Finnish defense and goalkeeper Juhu Olkenora prevented further strikes.

“We played a good match again and in the end we had enough chances to score another goal,” German striker Leonard Pföderl said in an interview with Sport 1 TV. “Unfortunately, it didn’t work and that’s how it ended.”

Mueller: We want to win a medal

“Today we had the chance to beat a major country again,” DEB captain Moritz Muller said. “We were also the better team throughout the match.” “But at this level it’s the little things that define the match in one direction or another. We wanted to be world champions and of course we’re very upset now. But now we want to win a medal tomorrow.”

Because despite the huge disappointment immediately after the World Cup dream was shattered, the DEB selection still has a chance of achieving the best World Cup result since 1953. In the third-place play-off, the Germans will meet the United States on Sunday and lose the semi-finals. 2-4 against Canada.