It was a thrilling final day of competition in Pasig City, Philippines as the last matches at these AOFC qualifications took place with Japan sealing 5th place, Australia qualifying for Malmö and the 2024 World Championships by beating Singapore and hosts Philippines got revenge for their group stage loss by beating Thailand in the final.

The day started with an incredible comeback win for Japan who defeated Korea 5-4 with an overtime goal by Shin Nakamura to claim 5th place at this event. Korea started off stronger of the two with the Japanese not helping themselves by taking several penalties leading to Korean powerplay opportunities and goals. After 40 minutes it was 4-2 to Korea and yet Japan came back to equalise with 4 seconds to go in regular time and send it into OT. Japan managed to kill off one penalty in OT and with time dwindling finally got the winning goal to mark an incredible comeback win and 5th place at the AOFC WFCQ. Overall a strong tournament for the Japanese who narrowly missed out on the Semi-Finals only due to goal difference and went the entire week only losing 1 match (to Australia). Korea had to settle for 6th place as they had recovered well from two losses to Thailand and Philippines to beat New Zealand but couldn’t quite get the victory for 5th over Japan.

Australia and Singapore battled it out for 3rd place in a crucial match to decide who will take the final ticket for Malmö in December and the 15th edition of the Men’s World Floorball Championships. Australia came in as strong favourites, with them being higher in the World Rankings and also winning the previous two meetings between the sides, including in the group stages with a convincing 8-3 victory. However this was a much closer match with nerves certainly coming into play for both teams. Australia had the edge in the first period but Singapore came out flying in the 2nd period to take a 2-1 lead. A missed penalty shot by Singapore led however to a surge in momentum for the Aussies who struck twice in quick succession and were up 4-2 in the third period. Singapore fought back but it wasn’t enough as Australia held on to secure the 3rd place finish at the qualifications and their spot in Malmö.

The final of these AOFC qualifications on paper was the battle for gold medal between rivals Thailand and Philippines. Again the Filipino crowd were LOUD in the venue and made sure the team could hear them on every opportunity and goal throughout the contest. There is no love lost between these 2 sides with Thai captain Pawat Thaidit describing their group game encounter earlier on in the week as “A War“. That match went the way of Thailand who ended up winning by a score of 8 goals to 3, but this time it was the Philippines who got their revenge. It was a physical battle again as both sides looked to show their strength early on with both getting 2 penalties each in the first period, keeping the Singaporean ref duo very busy. Thailand seemed to be the ones who had the edge however with them being able to counter any Philippines equaliser with a go ahead goal until the 3rd period. Despite going 4-3 up early on in the third, Thailand were hit by a sudden surge of Filipino pressure and momentum turning the game on its’ head as Lucas Werelius was able to push Philippines into a late lead with less than 9 minutes remaining. Philippines stood tall in defence and held on strong, with crucial blocks and play in net by Victor Lindberg to secure the revenge win for the Philippines and Gold Medal at home in the AOFC WFC Qualifications.

Photo: Gabriel Suarez

The final standings from the AOFC Qualifications for the 15th Men’s World Floorball Championships were as follows (With the top 3 securing qualification to the 2024 WFC):

Congratulations to Philippines, Thailand and Australia for qualifying for the 2024 Men’s World Floorball Championships!