The IFF will write a preview of each competition day with information about the teams, the players and the match itself. The previews can also be found at the WKK Sport Center and will be distributed to media. This way also the media personnel who are not that familiar with the sport, can find it easier to follow. Here´s the preview of the first competition day.
Group A Group B
Finland (1*) Sweden (2)
Czech Republic (4) Switzerland (3)
Poland (13) USA (11)
* = placement in WFC 2016
WFC = World Floorball Championships. The WFC 2016 acted as the qualification tournament for The World Games. All medallists, best neighbouring team to Poland, host country Poland and the best non-European team qualified.
All Stars Team = In every WFC, an All Stars Team is elected by the media representatives.
FIN v CZE 12:00
Finland are the reigning World Champions as they won the WFC title in Riga in December. Czech Republic came fourth after they lost the Bronze match to Switzerland. Finland have a strong roster, but due to some injuries they weren’t able to get all the top players to Wroclaw. Czech Republic are also missing some of their key players, for example their number one goalkeeper Lukas Soucek.
The Czechs have previously relied more on counter attacks, but they had a change of leadership as Finland’s WFC 2016 head coach, Petri Kettunen became the new head coach. It’s interesting to see how this will affect the playing style. The Finns are active and hungry, but also have a new head coach, though not totally new. Petteri Nykky has been with team Finland previously and also brought the team their first WFC gold in 2010.
Players to watch
FIN
#61 Peter Kotilainen: WFC 2016 Most Valued Player and Top Scorer. A hungry goal scorer.
#56 Krister Savonen: WFC 2016 All Stars Team player. Defender with quite a skill in handling the ball.
#20 Nico Salo: World-class centre.
CZE
#28 Matej Jendrisak: WFC 2016 All Stars Team player. World class player who is strong and is also a leader.
#15 Marek Benes: Newcomer who knows nice tricks and has good scoring ability.
#22 Lukas Veltsmid: Flexible player with good ball control and offensive power.
Previous results (three latest)
27.04.2017 FIN – CZE 8 – 1
04.02.2017 FIN – CZE 5 – 5
10.12.2016 FIN – CZE 4 – 3
SUI v USA 17:30
Switzerland are the current bronze medallists who have a solid leadership. Their current head coach has been with the team for previous three WFCs. The Swiss have a versatile team with experience and new comers.
USA have a team with a big heart. They’ve selected their best WFC 2016 players to the team and have a true passion for the sport. USA made their way to The World Games by being the best non-European team in the WFC 2016 as they took the 11th place against Canada.
Players to watch
SUI
#11 Manuel Maurer: who can create situations from nothing.
#99 Tim Braillard: who is an engine in his line.
#97 Luca Graf: who is an offensive and defensive force for us.
USA
#23 Terence Frank: Old timer goalie. He is getting stronger and better every year.
#44 Robin Brown: Had a real great WFC and ended 5th in the scoring leader with his 13 points.
#24 Michael Binder: The heart of a soldier! Aggressive and tough in defence and a daredevil in offence.
Previous results
The two teams have never met before, which makes the match even more interesting.
POL v FIN 20:00
Poland have a good mix of experience and youth in their team. Polish national teams have upped their game throughout the years and now they have a chance to perform in front of the home audience which motivates the players to fight even harder.
Finland have already played one game against the Czechs today, but as reigning World Champions they are still the favourites in this match. Will their physique be enough to control the game against Poland?
Players to watch
POL
#15 Mateusz Antoniak: The most efficient goal-scorer in the team.
#10 Wojciech Malajka: Young, talented player who scored most goals in the U19 WFC in the Spring.
#13 Karol Pelczarski: Also one of the youngest players in the team with a bright future.
FIN
#30 Lauri Stenfors: Physical defender who plays tough but fair.
#29 Mika Kohonen: Floorball legend whose ability to read the game is one of the best in the world.
#9 Eemeli Salin: Tough player whose physical abilities are one of the best within the sport.
Previous results
30.01.2014 FIN – POL 10 – 2
10.09.2010 POL – FIN 2 – 15
For more information about the teams and players visit www.floorball.org.
We have interviews with the head coaches as well as some of the players and team presentations! You can find them in written at www.floorball.org/pages/EN/The-World-Games-2017 and videoclips at www.youtube.com/user/iffchannel/
You can also find us on social media: IFF Floorball #floorball
