Both Semi-Finals took place today in Pasig City, Philippines at the Men’s AOFC World Floorball Championships Qualifications in the Philippines. Philippines and Thailand both qualified after they were victorious over Australia and Singapore respectively.
It was a busy day in Pasig City with both Semi-Finals and the 7th placed playoff taking place. The day began with New Zealand and China taking on each other for 7th place. It was the Kiwis who managed to overcome the Chinese to leave the week with their first win, despite a disappointing group stage for them. Tim Mckibben got a hat trick on the way to a 9-3 win. China meanwhile gained some invaluable experience this week on their return to international competition as they look to build up and develop their squad ahead of hosting The World Games 2025 in Chengdu, next year. New Zealand finished the event in 7th whilst China were in 8th position.
In the first Semi-Final hosts Philippines were spurred on by a loud and passionate home crowd to a terrific win against favoured Australia. The Filipinos were fighting for every centimeter on the field and fought hard along the boards, in the middle of the field and in front of their goalkeeper Patrik Nessbo who was strong with 16 saves. Forward Lucas Werelius was player of the game for the Philippines and was a key contributor for them going forward, providing an offensive spark with 2 goals and an assist. Australia must regroup and set up for the third place match tomorrow against Singapore, who they have beaten in their last 2 contests.
The second Semi-Final had Thailand take on Singapore. The group stages went very different for both sides with Thailand coming in on hot form with 3 wins out of 3 and strong performances in every match in the group stages, whilst Singapore had a super tight match against Japan before falling to Australia and rebounding strong against China with a huge win. The first 20 minutes were pretty close with Thailand having a slim lead before they activated the turbo boost and blew Singapore away in the remaining 40 minutes of play, eventually ending as 10-1 victors and being in control for the majority of the game. Forward Simon Johansson had an amazing match with 4 goals and 1 assist, helping his side to a comfortable win and a replay of their group stage encounter with Philippines who will be out looking for revenge.
All matches on the final day of qualifications from Pasig City, Philippines are live on the IFF App or app.floorball.sport. The last qualification spot will go to either Australia or Singapore who will battle it out for third place. Follow all the action from the qualification on the IFF App here
