Next World Cup group game for the German national team: On Sunday afternoon, national coach Toni Söderholm's selection met the USA. They lost in the Steel Arena DEB-Selection of the USA with 1:3 (1:1, 0:0, 0:2).
National coach Toni Söderholm made one change to the squad: Striker Stefan Loibl made his first World Cup appearance, while Leo Pföderl took a break. Mathias Niederberger was in goal.
They acted from the start DEB-Selection committed and concentrated against the Americans. The German team repeatedly successfully disrupted the opponent's build-up game. After winning one of these targets, Leon Draisaitl served the better-positioned Frederik Tiffels (12th), who scored for a deserved 1-0 lead. Only then did the USA put more pressure on Mathias Niederberger's goal. The equalizer was finally scored by James van Riemsdyk (14th), who skillfully deflected a shot.
In the second section, the Americans appeared dangerously in front of the German goal much more often. In quick succession, Mathias Niederberger was able to distinguish himself against Jack Eichel (24th) and Patrick Kane (26th). On the other hand, the German team repeatedly set clever offensive accents. Marc Michaelis (34th) had the best chance to take the lead again after a counterattack - but US goalie Cory Schneider was able to parry.
Dylan Larkin took advantage of a pass from James van Riemsdyk at the start of the final period to take the lead. The puck hit the top left corner and was unstoppable. The German team then had good scoring opportunities through Stefan Loibl and Leon Draisaitl, but were unable to equalize. Jack Eichel scored the deciding goal in the Americans' favor in the 57th minute when they were on the power play. National coach Toni Söderholm took goalkeeper Mathias Niederberger off the ice in favor of an additional field player, but the German team was ultimately unable to catch up and, despite a committed performance, lost 1:3.
The German national team has no games on Monday. The final group game against Finland takes place on Tuesday. The game starts at 12.15 p.m. SPORT1 will broadcast live from 12.00 p.m.
Toni Söderholm, national coach: "It was very important to me that we saw a very high work ethic on the ice today. From the beginning, we showed a completely different face than in the last game. All of the players improved. We were much more compact today and created enough scoring opportunities. I am pleased that we performed as a unit, which pushed us all and prepared us for the upcoming games."
Korbinian Holzer: "Over 60 minutes, that was our best performance in this tournament. We played the way you have to play against a strong opponent like the USA - we played well through the neutral zone, closed things down and then we were a little unlucky with the puck in the end. When we scored to make it 1:2, you could see the Americans' class. They don't need much space to score such a beautiful goal - you have to acknowledge that. It's obviously bitter for us to be left with no points, but there are some positives that we can take with us for the next game."
Moritz Müller: "In the end, we are of course disappointed that we lost the game. But I think the main message that will stick is what we set out to do before the game: to show a reaction to the Canada game. We managed that - we didn't want to play like we did yesterday. We gave ourselves the chance to win the game until the end today. That's how we have to play in the upcoming duels."
You can find all the statistics for the game HERE!