The Men’s World Floorball Championships 2020 European Qualifications will begin next week. The EUR3 qualifications will be played in Liepaja, Latvia from 29th of January to 1st of February.
In Europe, there will be six qualification groups with three event locations – Frederikshavn (Denmark), Poprad (Slovakia) and Liepaja (Latvia). Group E and F will play in Liepaja: Czech Republic, Spain, Netherlands, Liechtenstein play in Group E and Germany, Latvia, Austria and France in Group F. Three teams from each European qualification will make it to the WFC 2020 final round, played in Helsinki, Finland, 4th-12th of December. Scroll down for more information about the playing system or visit the IFF EUR3 website.
GROUP E
The Czech team wants to have a good preparation towards WFC in Helsinki. Their aim is to develop the playing system and spend remarkable time together with the team.
Players to watch:
Patrik Doza
Scorer and playmaker in the same baggage. Brilliant shot and general view of playing. Nice actions will be seen on field.
Ondrej Vitovec
Prototype of a great defending defender. Great at duels, physically strong and gives good support for offence actions.
Filip Forman
Young gun who already has all you need as a player. No big weaknesses, all parts of playing are at good level. Scorer, playmaker, fast movements. Future maker for the Czech team.
The aim is to qualify to the final round. Spain has a strong team, a mix off young players and experienced players.
Players to watch:
Ivan Martinez
Team Spain’s goalie for almost 20 years. The team is stronger when he is in the goal.
Antonio Saez:
He is one of the hearts of the team, pushing his teammates forward.
Pablo Lopez
He has played in all the international events since 2007 with under 19 team and the men’s team. He has played twice in the Men’s U19 World Floorball Championships.
Team Netherlands has a very young team with a few older experienced players. The team is under construction and they have the objective to gain international experience. The goal is to be second in the pool and a surprise in the final match.
Players to watch:
Arvid Vonk
Goalkeeper who has the reflexes of a Lynx. This will be his first Men’s WFCQ.
Max Molander
Is called the Dutch “Bomber” in his floorball team. Has experience from the Men’s and Men’s U19 WFCQ.
Thijme de Valk
A player with the flexibility of a ballet dancer. Forward who has coached the Women’s U19 in the U19 WFCQ.
The Liechtenstein national team was built in the year 2005. Since then Liechtenstein participated in the Men’s C-division WFC in 2008 in Slovakia, in the Men’s WFCQ 2010 EUR2 in Spain, in the Men’s WFCQ 2014 EUR4 in Latvia, in the Men’s WFCQ 2016 EUR4 in Slovenia and in the Men’s WFCQ 2018 EUR1 in Estonia. The aim of Liechtenstein is to win at least one game at the Men’s WFCQ EUR3 2020 in Latvia.
Players to watch:
Lukas Good
Goalkeeper who played once in the Men’s WFCQ in 2018. In that event, Good performed 74 saves in the match against Finland.
Fabian Kramer
Quiet and very committed defender with great playing qualities. Has played in the Men’s WFCQ in 2014.
Mario Neff
The legend of Zorro lives in … Liechtenstein. This is the first international event for him.
GROUP F
Team Germany is a good mix of experienced players mixed up with many young players who bring a fresh altitude to the team. The goal will be to play a solid WFC Qualifications, utilise the performance from the last World Floorball Championships and come as close as possible to the big 4 nations.
Players to watch:
Tim Böttcher
The captain of team Germany. He has already played in 5 World Championships and still wants to lead team Germany to Helsinki.
Tino von Pritzbuer
Although he is only 23, he has already been playing in three World Championships. He is a leading player of the team.
Mike Dietz
Team Germany’s goalie since 2012 aiming for his sixth World Championships in Helsinki.
Team Latvia – they have a good mix of young talents and experienced players in the team and they all are very motivated to play for Latvia. They have two main goals – to develop their game model and to qualify for WFC Helsinki 2020.
Players to watch:
Armands Savins
Youngest player in the roster – 2002 born, top young talent. He is very good with the ball and his understanding of the game is top class already.
Janis Ragovskis
He missed WFC in Prague because of injury. Now he is back and everyone should watch his ability to control the rhythm of the game playing with the ball.
Peteris Trekse
He was one of Latvia’s best players in the last WFC in Prague, but now has taken a very big step forward in his development. He has an excellent eye for the game that makes his teammates better.
Team Austria is a mix of experienced players and some young talents. First time ever the team is coached by Austrian staff without foreign support. The goal will be to improve results compared to the last Qualifications and maybe to surprise one or more opponents. The greatest advantage of the team is the spirit, which is higher than ever.
Floorball development in Austria
With introduction of the International Floorball league together with Teams from Slovenia and Hungary the level in the national championship could be raised. Floorball in Austria is getting more professional and is improving steadily. Nevertheless the gap between Austria and the teams such as Latvia, Germany, Norway and Denmark, which are following the four top nations, is still big. But during the upcoming years some more young players will find their way to the national team.
Players to watch:
Laurin Zehetner
The maybe most dangerous Austrian forward in the league, who was the MVP last season. He is very aggressive and if he gets the chance, he will score. He always gives 120%, tries to improve himself all the time and has an excellent stick handling. With his instinct and his shot he will be one of the deciding players for Austria at the qualifications.
Martin Krametter
A left defender who is extraordinary good in defence but also in offence. In defence he can control the game and give the game opening pass. When he gets the chance, he is always very dangerous with his hard and precise shot on every position, but especially on the left side. He is one of the players who can use his potential also in foreign leagues.
Niklas Felsberger
Half a year ago he moved to Linköping, Sweden to gain experience and improve his playing style. Now he returned back to Austria to strengthen his home club on the centre position again. He has a very good game anticipation, can read the game in an extraordinary way and first always looks at the defence. With his overview he can give the key passes to his teammates to make them scoring goals.
The French national team is a group of young talented players associated with some other experienced players. Their objective? To get the best result and maybe to qualify for their first World Floorball Championships in Helsinki in 2020.
Players to watch:
Manaure Russo Mendoza
The very experienced captain of team France. A leader on and off the field.
Thibault Legoff
A young and very talented goalkeeper. Fast movements and great skills.
Hugo Botton
A pure striker. Hard shot and fast with the ball.
*The information here is provided by the teams and modified by the IFF.
Playing system
For the first time, a new playing system will be introduced in the qualifications. In Europe, there will be four days of play (reduced from five) and 3 teams will qualify from each qualification event. In each event, there are 2 groups of four teams, and the teams will play once against the others in their group. On the final day will be a play-off round of cross-over matches, as follows:
Final – 1st Group E v 1st Group F (both teams qualify)
3rd place – 2nd v 2nd (winner qualifies)
5th place – 3rd v 3rd
7th place – 4th v 4th
