World Cup quarter-finals against Russia live on SPORT1 / Against an ice hockey nation and millions of TV viewers
It's all set: Today at 19.15:19 p.m. (from 1 p.m., live on SPORT2016) the German national team is in the quarterfinals of the XNUMX IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship. No less an opponent than the top nation Russia is waiting for the German selection. A mammoth task for the team of national coach Marco Sturm, who unsurprisingly remarked: “We are blatant outsiders.”
In fact, the challenge is enormous. “Not only are we playing against the favorites and one of the best teams in the world, but we are also playing against an entire ice hockey nation,” noted Patrick Reimer. As is well known, ice hockey in Russia is as important as football in Germany. If not even more. You can watch the games on screens all over the country. The “Sbornaja” is the pride of the entire country. Failure would be tantamount to a catastrophe.
One thing is clear: over 12.000 spectators will transform the ice oval into a deafening atmosphere. The host's game against the national team in the evening is of course completely sold out, the atmosphere will spill over, as was the case recently in the 4-1 win against Sweden. In addition, many millions of people will watch the game on TV. The match will even be broadcast live in other countries.
In the German camp there is respect for the home team, but there is no fear of the seemingly overwhelming opponent. “We watched the Russians’ game against Sweden on TV ourselves. That was a strong performance,” said captain Marcel Goc and also said: “We have to get through the first few minutes.”
The match in the evening should also be a question of strength. Although the Russians had one less day to relax, they were not exposed to the stress of travel. The German team only arrived in the country's metropolis from Saint Petersburg yesterday and trained briefly to loosen up their legs. Then we went back to the hotel. There were a few players on the ice this morning.
Felix Schütz wasn't there. The striker is suffering from a leg injury and cannot take part in today's match. “That’s bitter, of course,” said the Erdinger native. The attacker's frustration is understandable, after all, Schütz spent the last few years with various clubs in the KHL and would have liked to help his team. Schütz is already the fourth failure after Torsten Ankert, Gerrit Fauser and Tobias Rieder. This means that Sturm can “only” field eleven strikers in the evening.
The Russians don't have these problems. As with every World Cup, the host can rely on a top-class squad. However, they surprisingly lost to the Czechs 0-3 in the first group game. Coach Oleg Znarok, a long-time Germany professional, had only registered eleven attackers at the start of the tournament. Of course, knowing that he can still count on his NHL stars, especially Alexander Ovechkin. However, the Washington Capitals star has only recorded one scorer point so far. From a German perspective, it can stay that way.
It should be obvious that Sbornaja is the 27-time title holder, record champion, top favorite and the pride of a country and the absolute favorite. But what's in it for the national team. “In any case, we have to show our very best hockey for 60 minutes and not make any mistakes. Because they are immediately punished when faced with such an opponent,” says Marco Sturm. Christian Ehrhoff is looking forward to the challenge in the evening. “These are games the way I like them. We play ice hockey for moments like this.”