Neuchâtel, Switzerland, December 15, 2019 – Johanna Hultgren’s stunning overtime winner broke Swiss hearts and crowned Sweden champions of the Floorball world for the seventh consecutive time, as the Swedes move onto nine world titles throughout history.
It was another late show of nail-biting drama after the hosts forced overtime in the most unlikely fashion once more, only to just fall short at the final hurdle.
Elsewhere, Finland snatched an overtime winner of their own to bag the bronze medal and preserve their record of never missing the podium at a World Championship, while Germany and Poland both won their final classification games to seal seventh and fifth place in the final ranking table respectively.
Patinoires du Littoral:
4:30pm- Sweden 3:2 Switzerland {After Overtime} (Final)
Sweden were crowned champions of the 2019 WFC after Johanna Hultgren’s spectacular golden goal winner in overtime finally saw off Switzerland 3:2; the Swedes scooping a seventh consecutive world title and their ninth all-time World Championship.
It was a cruel way to end the dream of a home gold for the hosts, who forced overtime with just eight seconds remaining through Corin Rüttimann’s record-breaking goal. She now moves top of the all-time World Championship goalscoring charts with 48, one ahead of Denmark’s Cecilia Di Nardo. The personal accolade will be little consolation for defeat, but nothing can be taken away from Sweden who dug in during this performance and delivered their grittiest win of the campaign, with the winner a slice of world class brilliance from Hultgren; a goal worthy of winning any game.
Margrit Scheidegger lit the touchpaper at Patinoires du Littoral and got the hosts off to a dream start with just one minute and 12 seconds on the clock, as she tapped in from inside the slot after being laid off by Nathalie Spichiger’s cleverly disguised square pass which deceived Swedish goalkeeper Amanda Hill.
The defending champions would go in level, however, after Moa Gustafsson took aim from an angle and the ball took a deflection of Seraina Ulber’s left foot to beat Swiss goalkeeper Lara Heini.
Three minutes into the second period, the holders were ahead after Gustafsson pulled off a smart finish, but the Swedes missed several chances to add to the tally before the set was over.
Both sides failed to take advantage of powerplay phases, rather atypical for both sides, with Heini, awarded best goalkeeper of the tournament, pulling off a world class save during a Swedish power play to deny Moa Tschop, while Anna Wijk saw a close range effort come back off the bar.
The moment of the second period came when Sweden appealed for a goal when Sofia Joelsson’s effort appeared to have crossed the line, with Heini having clawed it out from the foot of the post. But after referee Tom Kirjonen had a lengthy consultation with the video assistants, the goal was not awarded.
The Swedes held their 2:1 advantage through the third period as they were repeatedly thwarted by the heroics of Heini, and there was once again video review drama when Anna Wijk celebrated what looked a Swedish goal, but video replays showed a superb double save from Heini with the ball nowhere near crossing the line.
Heini was called upon once more, putting out a big strong paw to turn away Hultgren’s one-on-one effort when she pulled clear of the Swiss defence, but she would take a backseat in the closing seconds as Swiss coach Rolf Kern sacrificed her for an extra outfield player with his last roll of the dice. And the gamble paid off: the ball was worked to Corin Rüttimann who crashed in her record-breaking goal to force overtime.
But little under a minute into the extra period, Sweden snatched the title: Hultgren received the ball from Wijk and picked her spot in the top corner, taking aim with a fierce drive that finally beat Heini and won the coveted gold medal once more. Cue wild celebrations on the Swedish bench and despair for the hosts, but as the curtain comes down on this tournament, it will no doubt go down in history as one of the classics for the abundance of late, late drama.
1:30pm- Finland 5:4 Czech Republic {After Overtime} (3rd Place; Bronze Medal)
Finland held their nerve in overtime to bag bronze with Veera Kauppi’s sensational golden goal winner and keep up their feat of never missing the podium at a World Championship, condemning the Czech Republic to an agonising fourth consecutive fourth place finish.
Both sides seemed to be suffering a semi-final hangover as they jostled for superiority in the opening third, but after Ivana Supakova was sent to the sin bin in the closing minutes, Finland took advantage as Oona Kauppi arrowed in from distance for 1:0.
However, the Finns were perhaps guilty of some complacency at the beginning of the second third having made the breakthrough, and the Czechs took full advantage by catching them cold to change the game. Eliska Krupnova slotted in an equaliser during a powerplay phase, before well worked team moves were finished off by Denisa Ratajova and Natalie Martinakova, to see the Czechs into a two-goal lead heading into the closing period. They were just 20 minutes away from bronze.
However, with their capacity to surrender a lead still fresh in Czech minds following yesterday’s semi-final, they couldn’t get over the line. Finland hit back in the closing third quickly, with sibling duo Oona and Veera Kauppi coming up with the goods. Oona Kauppi, named MVP of the 2019 World Championship after this performance, stroked home to get the Finnish comeback started, before turning provider for Veera Kauppi to fire in low and tie the game.
With the Czechs having seen a lead evaporate before them for a second successive time, they then found themselves chasing the game. 16-year-old Suvi Hamalainen went on a mazy solo run for Finland before crowning the move with a smart finish. Now it was the Scandinavian side who were just seven minutes from victory.
They would, however, require overtime to do it. The Czechs sacrificed goalkeeper Jana Christianova in the closing seconds to throw on an extra attacker, and the relentless pressure eventually paid dividends as Vendula Berankova found a pocket of space from distance, firing in a fierce shot which snuck under Finnish goalkeeper Tiltu Siltanen to bring it level at 4:4, propelling the contest into overtime.
But, it was to be Finland’s day, and it was a piece of individual brilliance that won it. The Finns built up a brilliant passing team move which saw the ball fall to My Kippila who then picked out Veera Kauppi on the right. Kauppi took aim with a bolt from the blue, and it beat everybody including Christianova to hit the back of the net and put the bronze medal on the plane back to Helsinki.
10:30am- Poland 8:4 Slovakia (5th Place)
Poland secured their highest ever finish at a World Championship with a historic 8:4 victory against Slovakia which sealed fifth place in the 2019 tournament.
The Poles had only ever achieved a sixth place finish at best in previous instalments of the WFC, while for Slovakia, it is a step back compared to 2017, where they were successful in securing fifth place on that occasion.
Zuzanna Krzywak opened the scoring for Poland to set them on their way after 108 seconds, but Slovakia would snatch back control of proceedings through Paulina Hudáková and a Denisa Ferencikova brace.
Not to settle with yet another finish outside the top five, Poland channelled the inspiration of Switzerland’s miracle of Neuchâtel and mustered a fine comeback. Justyna Krzywak held her nerve from a penalty shot, before Dominika Buczek pounced to restore parity at 3:3 on the half hour mark. Just under five minutes later, Poland completed the turnaround as Joanne Szelzchen slammed in from Justyna Krzywak’s pass.
Poland held their lead until the closing set, picking their moment carefully before putting the game decisively beyond Slovakia: Zuzanna Krzywak helped herself to a second goal of the game, before Buczek teed up Agnieszka Timek-Dziadkowiec to make it 6:3.
Sacrificing their goalkeeper, Slovakia chased the tie and managed to force a goal through Katarina Klapitova, but Buczek and Timek-Dziadkowiec both profited from the empty net to notch further Polish goals with easy finishes, sealing an historic win for their country.
La Riveraine:
10:00am- Latvia 3:4 Germany (7th Place)
Germany sprung a surprise against Latvia in this ranking playoff, coming from 2:0 down to secure the accolade of seventh place and knock Latvia back to a disappointing eighth after they had finished fifth two years ago.
Latvia’s early headway came courtesy of efforts from Inga Ametere and Laura Gaugere, but Anna Lena Best pulled a goal back for Germany in a powerplay phase before the first period was up.
After the first break, Paulina Baumgarten pounced twice, including with a shorthand strike to turn the game on its head in the Germans’ favour, before a powerplay phase yielded a fourth German goal through Ina Jensen, who coolly finished from Baumgarten’s pass.
Latvia did manage to reduce the German lead to one before the second period drew to a close, as Paula Matisone finished well to set up a tense final set, but they couldn’t force an elusive equaliser, finding goalkeeper Nancy Gatzsch in fine form to preserve the win for Germany.
2019 WFC All Star Team:
MVP: Oona Kauppi (Finland)
All-star team
Goalkeeper: Lara Heini (Switzerland)
Defender: My Kippilä (Finland)
Defender: Flurina Marti (Switzerland)
Center: Anna Wijk (Sweden)
Forward: Denisa Ratajova (Czech Republic) Forward: Emelie Wibron (Sweden)