Austria loses, but can still hope

Austria's national ice hockey team faces a decisive match against the USA at the men's World Championship in Switzerland for a place in the quarterfinals.

24 May 2026

From: apa/det

Roger Bader's team missed their chance to secure qualification on Sunday evening in Zurich, losing 2-5 to Finland, just as they had the previous evening with a 2-6 defeat against Germany. The Scandinavians were predictably dominant. Their Group A match against Olympic champions and defending champions USA is scheduled for Tuesday (4:20 pm).

Despite the defeat, Bader was satisfied. "You have to know who's on the other side," the Swiss player remarked. ORF. "That someone might slip through now and then, you have to expect that." The team manager praised his team's penalty killing and highlighted winning the third period. "That's positive for morale. We said during the last intermission, it's 0-0, and we're going to play the way we want to play on Tuesday." Against the USA, they believe in their chances; a win in overtime or a shootout would be enough.

The league table situation

The Austrians are still in third place after their three wins in the first phase of the tournament against Great Britain, Hungary, and Latvia. However, the Latvians drew level on points with the Austrian team on Sunday afternoon with a 6-0 victory over Great Britain. The head-to-head record still favors last year's quarterfinalists. In addition to the Austrians, Latvians, and Americans, the Germans could also reach this stage in the final two match days, but they are considered the least likely to advance.

The Finns played brilliantly. © ANSA / ANDREAS BECKER

In Group B in Freiburg, Canada, like Switzerland and Finland, secured their sixth victory with a 5-1 win against Slovakia. The Czech Republic has also already qualified from this group. In a three-way battle for the remaining two qualification spots, Norway unexpectedly holds the best position with two games still to play. The direct encounter between Slovakia and Sweden on Tuesday is likely to decide the outcome. In the afternoon match, Denmark defeated Italy 3-2 on penalties in a clash of teams nearing the end of the group.