SINGAPORE, 5 December 2023 – Sweden and Czech Republic reached the quarter-finals of the Women’s World Floorball Championships (WFC) 2023 after their Group B wins over Poland and Slovakia respectively on Tuesday (5 December). Both teams join Finland and Switzerland, who secured their quarter-final spots a day earlier. The final day of group stage action also saw Singapore deliver a plucky performance at the OCBC Arena as they fell 2-3 to Germany to finish second in Group C.
The hosts will still have a chance to vie for one of the four remaining places in the quarter-finals, which will be determined during the play-off round on Wednesday (6 December). The top two teams each from Group A and Group B qualify directly for the quarter-finals. The remaining teams from Group A and Group B, as well as the top two teams each from Group C and Group D, will compete in the first play-off round for a place in the quarter-finals on 7 and 8 December.
The results from Dec 5 are as follows.
| Game | Score |
| France v Australia | 5-5 |
| Estonia v Japan | 3-3 |
| USA v Denmark | 2-9 |
| Sweden v Poland | 25-1 |
| Slovakia v Czech Republic | 1-9 |
| Singapore v Germany | 2-3 |
The schedule for Dec 6 is as follows.
| OCBC Arena Hall 1 | OCBC Arena Hall 2 |
| 2pm: France v USA (13th-16th: 2) | 1pm: Estonia v Australia (13th-16th: 1) |
| 5pm: Norway v Denmark (Play-off 1) | 4pm: Latvia v Japan (Play-off 3) |
| 8pm: Slovakia v Singapore (Play-off 2) | 7pm: Poland v Germany (Play-off 4) |
Summaries of the matches and quotes from the players are available below.
France 5-5 Australia
#77 Marine Klopfenstein (17:50) #23 Emilie Waeber Belet (20:21) Own goal (32:56)
#77 Marine Klopfenstein (34:06) #6 Pauline Meneust (56:58)
#23 Hayley Cole (2:08) #37 Zoe Shanahan (41:36) #2 Melissa Creagh (51:48) #2 Melissa Creagh (58:54) #10 Blaise Hodges (59:10)
The first match of the day was a thriller that saw Australia claw back from the brink of defeat to deny WFC debutantes France their first win here, with the game ending in a 5-5 draw. Both teams were cheered on by fervent supporters who waved their flags enthusiastically and kept up a constant refrain of encouragement. After the first period ended with the score at 1-1, France had the upper hand in the next period as their opponents scored an own goal, in addition to goals from Emilie Waeber Belet and Marine Klopfenstein. France goalkeeper Zuzana Kandrikova also recorded a 100 per cent save rate to keep the Australians at bay and ensure that her team stayed ahead at 4-1 at the end of the second period. But Australia returned to the court fired up and narrowed the score to 4-3 with goals from Zoe Shanahan and Melissa Creagh. After France captain Pauline Meneust scored with just over 3 minutes of play left, Australia opted to play without a goalkeeper – a move that paid off as Creagh scored her second goal of the match and Australia captain Blaise Hodges equalised 50 seconds before the final whistle. With the result, France are third in Group C while Australia are fourth. Both will compete in the play-off matches for the 13th to 16th placings on 6 December, with France to face the USA and Australia to face Estonia.
Quotes:
“It’s good that we could come back and do that, but our goal was to come here and crack the top 10 and we haven’t been able to do that. So as good as it was to play a really good third period, it’s still not what we wanted to achieve. So it’s disappointing, but we have to look forward and do more for our next game. Playing that sixth player definitely helped, we practised that when we were back in Perth at our training camp before we came here. We knew what we wanted to do and what we wanted to execute. It definitely paid off for us but we couldn’t quite get over the line.” – Blaise Hodges, Australia captain
“What was challenging for us today was that the match had a lot of pressure. For example, there were a lot of special situations where they had 5 players and we had 4, and they had 6 and we had 5 – this is something we need to improve on and not panic. We need to review the game again because I think at the end of the game, we didn’t do that well. The target was to win at least one match and as of now we have not won any, so that remains the target for us. I don’t know which team we will play next but we will prepare as much as possible and try to win a game and not finish in last place. This competition is really important for us.” – Pauline Meneust, France captain
Estonia 3-3 Japan
#2 Kati Kutisaar (20:33) Own goal (26:08)
#36 Piret Puidak (44:45)
#8 Mahiro Shimizu (25:16) #19 Yu Abe (27:37)
#21 Shiho Morinaga (49:15)
It was an emotional display at the OCBC Arena Hall 1 as Japan and Estonia produced an intense six goal thriller that saw drama, tears and cheers. With Japan seeking to stay unbeaten at the WFC 2023 and Estonia hunting for a place in the quarter-final play-offs, the teams brought their A-game and kept tight defences from the start. Both goalkeepers proved reliable backbones for their team, saving all attempts their opponents threw at them in the first period, which ended goalless. At the restart, attacking mode was turned on instead and Estonian captain Kati Kutisaar broke the deadlock just 33 seconds into the second period, which ended 2-2. With Japan a player down for an illegal hit early in the third period, Estonia seized their chance as forward Piret Puidak whacked a stunning long-range shot into the top corner to give her side the lead for the third time. Not to be outdone, Japan’s Shiho Morinaga also produced a screamer from just after the halfway line to equalise. As time ran out and tensions rose, Estonian goalkeeper Saskia Ormak handled the ball outside the area while running back to defend the empty net leading to a penalty being awarded to Japan. Captain Yui Goto, who had previously demonstrated her ability to keep level-headed in such situations, could not replicate her success and could only bury her head in her hands after hitting the post. At the final whistle, players from both sides exchanged emotional handshakes even as the arena celebrated Estonian defender Reelika Liiv’s 19th birthday with a song.
Quotes:
“We just kept ourselves motivated by talking to each other. Our goal is to keep winning so for our quarter-finals play-offs, we’ll just prepare as usual.” – Rei Goto, Japan Player of the Match
“I don’t have words, I’m just upset and sad (at the result). I think we just didn’t have luck this time. We’re just going to rest today and think of what we can do better next time and hope we can win our next match. It’s amazing to celebrate my birthday with my teammates. My team is so special to me so it’s amazing.” – Reelika Liiv, Estonia
USA 2-9 Denmark
#57 Selma Johansson (4:41) #52 Catherine Lovitt (30:18)
#18 Sara Mainz Olsson (24:37) #9 Lina Voldby (36:56)
#5 Sophine Bergen Jorgensen (39:20) #8 Sofia Vestergaard Frederiksen (42:28) #18 Sara Mainz Olsson (43:44) #4 Victoria Wohlert (46:51)
#14 Anna Habersatter (47:36)
#8 Sofia Vestergaard Frederiksen (49:29) #16 Esther Juul Thomsen (59:10)
Denmark overcame a slow start to record a 9-2 win over the USA and finish second in Group D, sealing their place in the play-off round to reach the quarter-finals. The USA took an early lead with Selma Johansson scoring to give her team a 1-0 headstart. Though Denmark’s Sara Mainz Olsson equalised in the second period, the Danes soon found themselves trailing again after Catherine Lovitt of the USA scored the team’s second goal. But Denmark drew level again through Lina Voldby, and took the lead after Sophine Bergen Jorgensen’s shot found the net with less than a minute to go in the second period. There was no looking back for Denmark as they ramped up their attack to embark on a goal-scoring spree in the third period for a decisive victory. Denmark will next face Norway for a place in the quarter finals, while USA play France on Wednesday.
Quotes:
“At the end, we got a little bit tired. We had some tough games before this. We had two good periods and we tried to keep to our game plan. I think we played quite well but Denmark — they were good today. They were efficient and they had a lot of patience, so they came through us a few times in the beginning of third period and we just couldn’t keep it together till the end. (During tough matches) I try to encourage the team with passion and with my heart. We also have a lot of other players on the bench who can yell and cheer. We had the audience in the stands who were cheering for us so (it feels like) we’re doing it together. We want to win the last two games to end up in the 13th place. That’s our goal.” – Marie Häggström, USA Player of the Match and Captain
“I’m extremely happy. We had a rough start to this championship with an unfortunate loss against Japan, but we worked ourselves into the tournament – we had a good game against Estonia yesterday and a great finish off with this game against USA. You can never relax on a floorball field. It looks like we’re going to have a really rough match tomorrow so I think it’s good if we’re hot on our goals today. We had a fantastic experience the last time going to the quarter-finals and it was amazing, and we of course hope to do the same this year. We have a very new and inexperienced team, so it’s just about getting everyone to experience this and we’re going to do the best we can.” – Martina Morch, Denmark captain
Sweden 25-1 Poland
#11 Maja Vistrom (05:45)
#16 Moa Gustafsson (06:36)
#27 Moa Andersson (09:33)
#26 Emelie Wibron (10:21)
#8 Ellen Rasmussen (11:33)
#13 Wilma Johansson (12:36) #26 Emelie Wibron (13:57)
Own goal (14:26)
#8 Ellen Rasmussen (14:41)
#8 Ellen Rasmussen (16:58)
#8 Ellen Rasmussen (18:51)
#47 Hanna Nordstrand (32:24) #26 Emelie Wibron (33:32)
#26 Emelie Wibron (33:49)
#3 Amanda Delgado Johansson (34:41) #8 Ellen Rasmussen (37:41)
#8 Ellen Rasmussen (43:14)
#13 Wilma Johansson (44:31) #6 Klara Loneberg (49:17)
#22 Nellie Ohgren (52:32)
#6 Klara Loneberg (52:50)
#26 Emelie Wibron (53:24)
#3 Amanda Delgado Johansson (54:12) #13 Wilma Johansson (56:25) #44 Lisa Carlsson (57:51)
#8 Dominika Buczek (36:30)
Sweden cemented their quarter-finals spot while demonstrating just why they are the reigning world champions and world No. 1 with a resounding victory over Poland. It took just five minutes for them to get going, but once they scored their first goal, there was no looking back as their relentless attacking gave them a whopping 11-0 lead after the first period. They later extended that lead by four before Poland’s Dominika Buczek pulled one back but Sweden still maintained a 16-1 lead at the break. Their ruthless streak was on full display again in the third period they scored nine goals to record the highest number of goals scored in a match at this tournament. Sweden will face either Latvia or Japan in the last eight, while Poland play Germany in their quarter-final play-off on Wednesday.
Quotes:
“I feel very happy. We played three really good games, one perfect game against Czech Republic and the other two games have been very fun to play. We scored a lot of goals. It’s always fun to score and we try to have goals from our defenders so we push them to shoot a lot so we can keep getting a lot of goals. Of course we can always improve, we can always be better in everything. But we played really good so far, now it’s the play-offs and we know we need to be a little bit better before the final and in the final, we need to be the best team.” – Ellen Rasmussen, Sweden Player of the Match
“The most important thing going into this match was actually that no injuries happen. Unfortunately, this was not successful (because Dominika Tomaszczenik injured her ribs in the second period). We tried to enjoy the game, tried some stuff because this is the game that we can try new things. At the end of the day, we’re playing against a top-four opponent and the defending champions. We were not really thinking that we can win, but we still wanted to challenge them. I would say the defence from our side was not too bad. We managed to block many shots. We managed to be better as a team, we tried to communicate more and I think it was a success. For our next match, we have to focus on the physical side. We have to be a bit tougher in the game, we have to block more or maybe push more and be more present.” – Weronika Noga, Poland captain
Slovakia 1-9 Czech Republic
#30 Paulina Hudakova (1:48) #4 Michaela Kubeckova (13:19)
#9 Nela Jirakova (19:11)
#7 Anna Bruchakova (25:02)
#2 Eliska Chuda (25:26)
#5 Eliska Krupnova (35:22)
#27 Vendula Maroszova (45:27)
#13 Michaela Mechlova (48:04)
#7 Anna Bruchackova (52:49)
#7 Anna Bruchackova (58:28)
Czech Republic booked their place in the WFC 2023 quarter-finals after finishing second in Group B with their 9-1 win over Slovakia. With both teams battling for the coveted spot in the last eight, the contest at the OCBC Arena was more heated than the scoreline suggested as Slovakia struck first with a successful penalty shot by Paulina Hudakova. Czech Republic quickly equalised through Michaela Kubeckova, and edged ahead after Nela Jirakova’s shot from the middle of the court landed home. Slovakia continued to pressure their opponents as they employed numerous tactical adjustments in a bid to narrow the score. But Czech Republic held steady and remained faster and fiercer to rack up more goals and seal their quarter-final berth. They will face either Norway or Denmark in the quarter finals on Friday. Meanwhile, Slovakia will reach the last eight if they defeat Singapore in the play-off match on Wednesday.
Quotes:
“I’m a little bit sad because we actually started the game very well. It was tight in the beginning, but as the game continued, we started to make more mistakes and unfortunately when it was 5-1, we (conceded) two fast goals and the game was more or less over. We tried to play six against five, we tried to play a more pressing game, then we just used the chance to try some things for the play-off round. It’s unfortunate, but it’s still not that bad a result for us, I think we could have scored a few more goals. I’m very confident (for the play-off game), I know the game we play tomorrow is the most crucial one for us. This is the game we have been preparing for the last two years and we know we have to win it.” – Katarina Klapitova, Slovakia captain
“We took our chances and it was effective (as it) resulted in us scoring the goals that we wanted. I am glad we made it through to the quarter-finals. I am very happy about it. It is good that we have two days of break to recover and be ready to face our next opponents in the tournament. I hope this time, we will make it all the way to the gold medal but whatever it is, we will fight hard for a medal.” – Anna Bruchackova, Czech Republic forward
Singapore 2-3 Germany
#8 Siti Nurhaliza Khairul Anuar (39:13) #9 Jerelee Ong (43:33)
#15 Elena Broker (10:33) #5 Pauline Baumgarten (43:58) #11 Winona Jurgens (54:58)
Although both teams had secured their places in the play-offs for the WFC 2023 quarter-finals, Singapore and Germany still had something to fight in this Group C clash – the winner would finish top of the table. Both took some time to get their rhythm going and were equally matched but Germany’s patience in breaking down the Singapore defence paid off after 10 minutes through Elena Broker. Singapore then upped the ante but German goalkeeper Noora Holle proved a brick wall in goal, saving all eight of Singapore’s attempts to preserve her side’s lead. It was a similar story in the second period with both teams keeping the pressure on each other. Singapore had better chances but could not find the target while goalkeeper Shermaine Goh remained alert to keep the deficit at just one. The hosts finally had their breakthrough in the final minute of the second period when Siti Nurhaliza Khairul Anuar’s flick off Foo Wen Xin’s lob found the back of the net. Four minutes in the third period, Singapore took the lead through Player of the Match Jerelee Ong’s mid-range hit into the far post as the home crowd erupted into raucous cheers. But just seconds later, forward Pauline Baumgarten celebrated her 100th cap in style, beating Goh from close range. With 10 minutes to go, Winona Jurgens produced a stunning solo effort to snatch the lead. Holle also displayed nerves of steel, making three saves in the final minute to ensure Germany finish top of the group. For a place in the quarter finals, the Germans will play Poland, while the hosts face Slovakia on Wednesday.
Quotes:
“A few of my line mates were injured and we had to make the substitutions and I think that was my biggest challenge. It was obviously not what we were comfortable with, but we had to make do. Team wise, I think we were all pretty exhausted, but we still managed to push on so that’s great. Even when we were 2-3 down, I think we really wanted it so we really pushed and pressed even though we were tired. Everyone was still giving their best and I thought that was our best bet — our energy and how much we wanted it. One of the key takeaways from this match would be how we can come together as a team and how like just now, even with our players being down, we all came back together and played as a line and as a team. We hope to bring this to the next game.” – Jerelee Ong, Singapore Player of the Match
“I have mixed feelings right now, it was quite an interesting game and, at the end, very close, but we are very happy to win the group. Leading by one goal is not a lot and it happened so fast. It’s so important that I also calm the team down. This is what keeps me going, that I have to be the team’s safety net. I was very relieved (at the final whistle). It’s a win and it was a really cool crowd and it was a good game so very happy, I was very relieved. The game on Wednesday is what we are focusing on now so we have to improve a lot. We can take a long from this game, but there’s more to come and and we need to be more efficient as a team.” – Noora Holle, Germany goalkeeper
Tickets are available at https://www.sistic.com.sg/events/wfc2023. More match updates are available at https://app.floorball.sport/leagueorganizer/Magazine/92#/leagueorganizersite/92/start.
Featured Image: Flickr