Today it will be decided whether German ice hockey will take part in the 2018 Olympic Games
It's ready, the ultimate showdown for the German national ice hockey team will take place in the evening: Today (from 16.55:1 p.m., live on SPORT2018) national coach Marco Sturm's team is facing what is probably the most important game of the year. In the final final of the Olympic qualification, host Latvia will decide which of the opponents will take part in the XNUMX Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea. A game of 'all or nothing'.
Picking a favorite seems almost impossible. There are too many pros and cons on both sides. An important fact that speaks for the German selection is not just the results. In the 5-0 win against Japan and 6-0 over Austria, the selection of the Deutscher Eishockey-Bund (DEB) not only gained the necessary self-confidence, but also used these two games to coordinate even better with each other. An important point before today's match.
Another great advantage is that no player has been injured so far, so Sturm can leave his squad unchanged in the evening. This is important because all four forward lines have been able to score points so far. This makes the national team even more difficult for the opponent to predict. And the defense has also stood its ground so far: Philipp Grubauer has not conceded a goal in the 120 minutes played so far.
It would only be right for the Washington Capitals keeper and those in front of him if things went the same way today. However, there are no illusions in the German camp and they are aware of the difficulty of the task, which cannot be compared to previous games. “We are not only playing against Latvia, but also against the audience,” says national coach Marco Sturm.
However, the pressure can be particularly on the host before their own Fans burdens, also inhibits. The team struggled for a long time in the Latvians' 3-1 win against Japan on Friday. Japan had one or two solo efforts when the score was 1-2, and the game threatened to tip over.
Whatever the constellation may be in the evening, an encounter on a knife's edge is expected. “Little things will make a difference,” said captain Marcel Goc and added: “Only those who do them right and keep their own error rate low can be successful. In any case, we are ready.”