Germany’s national ice hockey team fulfilled its duty against Austria on Sunday in Zurich, winning 6-2. Nevertheless, reaching the quarterfinals at the World Championship in Switzerland is in serious jeopardy. As FAZ reports, Latvia now sits two points ahead of Germany after a surprising 4-2 victory over defending champion USA, putting them in the best position to advance to the next round.
National coach Harold Kreis showed fighting spirit before the game on MagentaSport: “Our task today is to start a good game against Austria and push through for 60 minutes. It’s about the win and the three points. That’s what we have in our hands.” After the game, he emphasized that the situation had “not changed at all.”
The goals for Germany were scored by Lukas Reichel (24th, 46th, 52nd minute), Joshua Samanski (34th), Manuel Wiederer (49th), and Alexander Ehl (55th). Leon Wallner (23rd) and Vinzenz Rohrer (49th) scored for Austria. The German team had already won the preparatory games against Austria 4-3 and 5-2.
On Monday (8:20 p.m., ProSieben and MagentaSport), Germany will face promoted team Great Britain, which has yet to score a point, in the final preliminary round game. However, a win alone is not enough: the team is dependent on slip-ups by the competition, especially Latvia in its final games against Great Britain and Hungary. The chances of the USA or Austria falling behind Germany are also slim.
If the preliminary round exit occurs, it would be the third disappointing tournament in a row, following the exit in Denmark in 2025 and the Olympic disappointment in Milan with all NHL stars including Leon Draisaitl. Ahead of the home World Championship in 2027 in Düsseldorf and Mannheim, with the opening game at Schalke, national coach Kreis’s position is becoming increasingly uncertain.
Source: www.faz.net
