After a perfect quarter-final entry: DEB-Team against Kazakhstan

Created: 05/22/2022, 04:31

Germany's ice hockey cracks already have a place in the quarter-finals.

© Martin Meissner/AP/dpa

After five of the seven preliminary round games, it is already clear that the German national ice hockey team has another chance of reaching the World Cup semi-finals.

Helsinki - Germany's ice hockey team meets Kazakhstan in the penultimate group game at the World Championships in Finland on Sunday.

Even before the duel in Helsinki with the outsider (3.20 p.m. / Sport1 and MagentaSport), the team of national coach Toni Söderholm has been determined as a quarter-finalist.

"It's nice to have reached the quarter-finals two games before the end of the group stage," said captain Moritz Müller. "Of course we still want to score points in the next two games to put ourselves in the best possible starting position."

Early in the quarterfinals

The starting position: Three months after the disappointment at the Olympics with the elimination before the quarter-finals, this time the selection is already early in the round of the top eight.

Denmark's win over France (3-0) on Saturday also put an end to the last mathematical doubts.

Germany is currently third in its group.

Second place would have the advantage of getting a supposedly easier quarter-final opponent and not having to move from Helsinki to Tampere.

With another three points, the best German World Cup preliminary round so far would have been set, which was achieved in Slovakia in 2019 at the World Cup premiere under Söderholm.

The opponent:

Kazakhstan is so far the weakest team in the German preliminary round group and still without a point.

The Kazakhs lost by just one goal to Switzerland, France and Slovakia.

At the start there was a violent 1:9 against Denmark, and the Kazakhs lost 3:6 against Canada.

For the team it's about staying in the world group against Italy on Monday.

The stats:

There have only been four World Cup duels so far - with two wins and two defeats.

Last year at the World Cup in Riga was world number 15.

shown as an unpleasant challenger.

Germany lost 2:3.

The staff:

It is doubtful that NHL striker Tim Stützle will play again for the first time after his injury from the France game (3: 2) on Monday evening.

After the 9: 4 against Italy, Söderholm left it open whether other players were injured.

"We look from game to game what the situation is, who needs a break, who is injured.

We have to be smart about that,” said the Finn.

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This is what national coach Toni Söderholm says about the early quarterfinals: "Of course it's a good sign that the team has done a lot right so far.

Anyway, we're going game by game and continue to work with determination."

The perspective:

The last group game will take place on Tuesday (11.20 a.m./Sport1 and MagentaSport) against archrival Switzerland.

The Swiss have also already been determined as participants in the quarter-finals.

The quarterfinals will be played on Thursday.

dpa