Estonia and Spain are the final two teams to book their places at the Men’s U19 World Floorball Championships, taking place in Riga, Latvia, next February. Estonia secured their spot on Friday evening in front of their home crowd, marking their fourth win of the week in the EUR2 qualification event against Austria. Spain’s ticket to Riga was confirmed last night following Estonia’s 2-1 victory over Slovenia, which ensured Spain finished as the best second-placed team across the EUR1 and EUR2 groups.
Estonia remained undefeated throughout the EUR2 qualification in Jõgeva, winning all five of their matches. By Friday evening, it was clear that no other team in the group could catch them as they reached 8 points. Spain, meanwhile, had been waiting anxiously for the final results, and last night they finally got their answer—they are heading to Riga!
Here is a look at the final day of the EUR2 qualification event.
Hungary vs Great Britain
Hungary enjoyed a great start to the tournament, winning 7-3 against Slovenia, though they were subsequently beaten by Estonia, Austria, and Ukraine. Great Britain began with a draw against Austria but endured a similar run to Hungary, losing to Ukraine, Estonia, and Slovenia. Both sides were eager to end their tournament on a positive note, but Hungary showed early on that they meant business.
Marton Nguyen van scored the opener after just 14 seconds. By the end of the first period, Hungary led 5-0 thanks to goals from Bence Nguyen van (who scored twice), Barnabas Kovacs, and a fantastic penalty shot from Adam Merena. In the second period, Dexter Aldred opened the scoring for Great Britain, and although they had a chance to add to their tally on a powerplay, they failed to convert. The second period ended 5-1. Vincent Sundberg found the net at the start of the third, with Kristof Tell and Lazar Gyorgy adding one each for Hungary. Jacob Towers scored a second for Great Britain 45 seconds from time, but the result was never in doubt. Final score: 8-2 to Hungary.
Player of the match, Lazar Gyorgy, said: “We can now go back home with a good feeling from the tournament, even if we didn’t qualify.”
Austria vs Ukraine
Both Austria and Ukraine had been fighting for a qualification spot throughout the week but had to face the reality of missing out. Austria’s campaign included two draws—3-3 against Great Britain and 4-4 against Slovenia—and a 6-2 win over Hungary. Ukraine started with a 6-7 loss to Estonia, followed by a 13-4 win against Great Britain and a 7-0 defeat to Slovenia.
Florian Achernig opened the scoring for Austria after nine minutes, and Fabian Nussbaumer added to the lead. Filip Eichmann made it 3-0 in the 28th minute, but Ukraine refused to give up, with Lukian Pelekh pulling one back to end the second period at 3-1. Tobias Ottensammer made it 4-1 for Austria after receiving a great pass from the corner by Fabian Nussbaumer. While Stanislav Hural scored a second for Ukraine, Felix Farmer added a fifth for Austria. Ukraine took a timeout in the 57th minute and pulled their goalkeeper, but an empty-net goal from Pius Scharfetter at 59:59 sealed the game. Final score: 6-2 to Austria.
Estonia vs Slovenia
The final match of the event was a decider for the U19 WFC spot: it was either Slovenia or Spain. Slovenia knew they had to win to guarantee their place in Riga. A fantastic home crowd turned up to support Estonia, as they had done all week in Jõgeva. Slovenia got a dream start when Taj Tinauer proved unstoppable, driving forward to shoot into the top corner.
Slovenia held their 1-0 lead until the third period, when Estonia equalised through Kennet Vaha in the 43rd minute. Knowing a draw would not be enough, Slovenia took a timeout in the 53rd minute. They failed to score, but Estonia did; Kert Kristjan Kukk made it 2-1. This remained the final score, crushing Slovenia’s qualification hopes. The players were understandably devastated after the game, while in Spain, the team was celebrating a result that confirmed them as the best second-placed team across the EUR qualifiers.
Final standings
- Estonia
- Austria
- Slovenia
- Ukraine
- Hungary
- Great Britain