The U20 national team is threatened with historic relegation

The U20 World Cup traditionally takes place in December and includes six teams per division. Only in the top division are ten teams fighting for the title. Italy is in Division I, Group B and has to compete with teams that only play second fiddle to the professionals. And yet the Azzurri risk relegation to the fourth division, where they would then face teams like Spain or Romania.

But first things first: At the start, the team trained by Cortina coach Giorgio De Bettin experienced a debacle and lost 3:15 to Poland. For comparison: last year the Azzurri defeated the Eastern Europeans 3-1.

Estonia rejoices, Italy mourns This defeat was followed by a thoroughly “calculated” defeat against the French (1:4), before the duel against newly promoted Estonia took place on Sunday. Thanks to Patrick Demetz from Val Gardena, who scored a brace, Patrick Tomasini from Kaltern and Edgar De Toni, Italy was already ahead 3-0 and later 4-2. But then Estonia turned things up, made it 14-4 around 4 minutes before the end and when it looked as if the game would go into extra time, the underdog gave the Azzurri the death blow: seven seconds before the end, triple goal scorer Kiril Lodeikin scored all-important 5:4 winning goal.

If De Bettin's troops want to avoid their first relegation since 2006, they have to score points against both Hungary and Ukraine. If relegation actually occurs, it would be a new low for ice hockey in Italy and extremely worrying with a view to the 2026 Olympic Games in Milan and Cortina. The program: Tuesday, December 17th: Italy – Ukraine (19 p.m.)

Wednesday December 18th: Hungary – Italy (15.30 p.m.)

The table: Pos Name Country Points 1. France 3 9 2. Hungary 3 9 3. Poland 3 3 4. Ukraine 3 3 5. Estonia 3 3 6. Italy 3 0

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The U20 national team is threatened with historic relegation

The championships are in full swing here. Almost 2.000 kilometers away, in Kiev, the U20 national team, full of South Tyroleans, is fighting against relegation.

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