The Women’s World Championships has returned to the Czech Republic after 12 years. Not only our national team, cheered on by a record number of fans, but also Switzerland and Slovakia had a successful first match in Brno. The Netherlands and Norway also did well, while Finland and Sweden played to a draw. Check out all the results from the opening day of the tournament.
Switzerland – Latvia 8:4 (2:1, 5:1, 1:1)
The opening game of the championships featured a clash between Switzerland and Latvia. The statistics told a clear story: in all eleven of their previous meetings, the Swiss had always come out on top, and their most recent encounter ended in a lopsided 22–1 defeat for the Baltic side.
The atmosphere in the stands also favored Switzerland. Their team enjoyed a noticeably larger fan base, with the arena echoing to the familiar chant of ‘Hop Swiss’. The favorites made a strong start, with the first shots on goal arriving within seconds, and it didn’t take long for them to open the scoring. The breakthrough came after a Latvian own goal, and Seraina Fitzi doubled the lead on a power play soon after.
But Latvia showed they had no intention of surrendering easily or giving the heavily favored team anything for free. Late in the first period, Simona Grāpēna cut the deficit to 2-1 with a shorthanded goal. The second period delivered a flurry of goals-seven in total. Latvia scored twice, both courtesy of Jūlija Rozīte, while Switzerland struck five times. Isabelle Gerig played a key role in building the Swiss lead, registering three assists and a goal.
Gerig confirmed her strong performance in the comparatively quieter final period, adding Switzerland’s eighth and final goal and earning player of the match honors. The first Group A game thus ended 8-4 in favor of the favorites. And despite the loss, the Baltic team can hold their heads high-it was their best result against Switzerland since 2001.
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Australia –Netherlands 3:7 (0:3, 0:2, 3:2)
The Dutch women made an excellent return to the World Floorball Championships after 10 years. It took them less than three minutes to open the scoring against Australia thanks to Marissa Meijer. They continued to create chances, although they failed to convert them as they would have liked. In any case, before the end of the first period, the European players scored two goals and were in good spirits for the next phase of the match. Both teams had a great crowd, but the Oranjes fans were still happier – their players increased their lead and it seemed that nothing could happen. It was only at the end of the match that Australia reduced the deficit, but the Netherlands took two points with a 7-3 victory.
Watch the match highlights in the IFF app!
Sweden – Finland 3:3 (1:0, 2:3, 0:0)
The opening period offered little in terms of goals, with spectators waiting a long seventeen minutes for the first—and only—shot to find the net, as Ellen Rasmussen put Sweden’s lead. Finland created several dangerous opportunities, but Swedish goalkeeper Lovisa Hedin stood firm. Although the reigning champions doubled their lead early in the second period to make it 2–0, Finland refused to back down and turned the game around within three minutes, taking a 3–2 lead. Sweden managed to equalize before the intermission, but that proved to be the final goal of the match. Despite sustained pressure from both sides, the third period remained goalless, thanks largely to standout performances from both goaltenders. Finland’s Miia Maaranen was named her team’s best player, while Sweden’s honoree was Rasmussen, the scorer of the opening goal. In the end, the clash between last year’s finalists produced no winner.
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Singapore – USA 1:8 (1:4, 0:1, 0:3)
The United States did not miss out on victory at the start of the tournament, defeating the hosts of the previous championships, Singapore. The Asian team faced shooting superiority and conceded the first goal of the match. The situation became even more complicated for them after three quick goals by the USA between the 14th and 17th minutes. Singapore put up only sporadic resistance, and the Americans were not caught off guard. By the third period, it was clear that their opponents would not catch up, and the USA celebrated a 8-1 victory. Klara Kyrk Gere contributed two goals to the win.
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Estonia – Germany 4:9 (0:4, 3:3, 1:2)
The Germans also secured their first points at the WFC, capitalizing on a successful first period against Estonia. It was tough going at the start, with the Baltic team defending well, but eventually the defense was broken. Germany entered the second period with a 4-0 lead and gradually increased their advantage to six goals. However, the Estonians fought back, punishing their opponents’ mistakes and slowly closing the gap. Nevertheless, the German team struck again at the end to make it 9-4.
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Czechia – Denmark 11:0 (2:0, 5:0, 4:0)
The Czech players made a confident start to the tournament. They dominated their opening group match against Denmark 11-0 in front of a fantastic crowd of 2,811 fans. This was the largest crowd ever to attend a match on the first day of the women’s championships. It was also the 100th international appearance for forward Martina Řepková.
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Japan – Norway 2:9 (1:1, 0:3, 1:5)
The representatives of Norway and the players from the land of the rising sun met only three times before. Norway had dominated all previous matches, so they were the favorites today as well. However, the first period predicted a low-scoring game. Both teams entered the second period with a tied score of 1-1. That changed at the end of the second period, when the Norwegians rewarded their fans for their patience and sent three successful shots into the Japanese goal. They remained on a roll in the final period, scoring three goals in two minutes. The Japanese reduced the deficit, but the Norwegians had the last word, increasing their lead to 9-2 just before the end of the match. The biggest star of the winning team was Martine Anderson Simonsen with three goals and one assist.
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Slovakia – Poland 7:3 (2:0, 2:0, 3:3)
The final match of the opening day of the World Championships featured Slovakia and Poland. The Slovak side, coached by Czech manager Michal Jedlička, came away with a surprisingly convincing 7-3 victory. The game was orchestrated by three players who each scored twice: Sophia Sabolová, Paulína Hudáková, and Daniela Hrabovská. Among the day’s highlights-and perhaps even one of the standout moments of the entire tournament-was a goal by Polish sharpshooter Dominika Buczek. The two-time Extraliga champion with Vítkovice powered her way down the left wing and, in a freestyle manner, sent the ball past goalkeeper Farulová.
Watch the match highlights in the IFF app!
