The Norwegians celebrate their 4:1 victory over the Czech Republic – and are able to achieve the most successful World Championship in their history in Switzerland
Keystone
Norway booked their quarter-final ticket at the Ice Hockey World Championships in Zurich and Fribourg. After Sweden (3:2), the Norwegians also defeated the Czech Republic 4:1. The Norwegians can now even look forward to 2nd place in the group.
The Czech defeat against Norway means that Canada has already won the Freiburg preliminary round group before the last games. Norway overtook the Czech Republic and can secure second place in the group with a win over Denmark. It will be critical for Sweden: The Swedes occupy 5th place before the last game and can only overtake the Slovaks. Sweden need a win in 60 minutes against the Olympic finalists on Tuesday, otherwise the ten-time world champions will miss out on the quarter-finals, as they did in 2019.
The Norwegians, on the other hand, reached the quarter-finals for the first time since 2012. The Norwegians won against the Czech Republic for only the second time since 2010. And for the first time against the field hockey superpower, Norway scored four goals against the Czech Republic. Michael Brandsegg-Nygard from the Detroit Red Wings scored two goals.
In the Zurich group, the USA kept their chance of reaching the quarter-finals alive. The USA team defeated Hungary 7:3 and, like Sweden, moved up to fifth place. However, like Sweden, the 2025 world champions can still reach the last eight on their own. To do so, the USA must defeat Austria.