From the teams that are currently ranked 6th – 10th, Norway (ranked 8th) is determined to fight for a place in the semi-finals and also Russia (ranked 7th) is aiming to improve their current ranking. Poland was promoted to the A-division in 2009 and their goal is to be in the top 7 and qualify directly to the next Women´s WFC in 2011.
Denmark – There is a chance for some new talents to make their international break in the Danish team as some of the more experienced players suffer from injuries.
Cecilia Di Nardo, born 1992, is one of the young Danish talents that has a lot of potential and one of the more experienced goal scorers is Sandie Bagge, who made her WFC debut already in 2001.
Team Russia is aiming improve their placement from 2007 and have a good chance of doing so with skilful players like Maria Kitaeva. Kitaeva made her international debut in the Under 19 WFC in 2006 when she scored the most points in the tournament (15 + 3) and was elected to the All Stars.
The goalkeeper Liudmila Troshina is still only 17-years of age but was elected as the best goalie in Russia for 2008-2009.
Norway – is determined to prove that they belong to the top 4 nations and are prepared to challenge the favourites in group A: Sweden, Czech Republic and Latvia.
Tone Einstulen, the defender from the Swedish club IBF Falun in Elitserien, is one of the players to be noted. She is fast and strong both technically and physically. Another player with an amazing speed is Lisbeth Pettersen who made her WFC debut in 2007.
Team USA´s goal is to achieve the 7th place and qualify directly.
USA has a lot of new players and need to find a way to replace the Muuri sisters that are both missing due to injuries. The most experienced player is the solid defender Tiffany Winkler from UHC Höfen in Switzerland. The 16-year old Kathrin Berndt, who plays for Södertälje IBK, is an interesting talent in the Offense.
Poland´s primary goal is also to be in the top 7 and directly in the WFC 2011.
Elzbieta “Ela” Piotrowska is one of the most experienced Polish players. She was the first player to play abroad and has made a career in the Czech club FBC Liberec.
Also the Polish All star player from the Women´s U19 Championships on home ground in 2008, Wioletta Bialon will bring strength to the Polish offense.
More information about the teams and players from the links (in green) and more WFC information on the Official WFC 2009 web page.
Read about the teams that are currently ranked in the top 5 from here.
