Reigning world champion, last year's finalist and strong co-host: After the most recent council meeting of the world association IIHF, the German national ice hockey team has clarity about the group division for the 2021 World Cup in Latvia and Belarus. The selection of the Deutscher Eishockey-Bund (DEB) will face defending champions Finland, Canada and the hosts Latvia, as well as the USA, Norway, Italy and Kazakhstan in Group B in the Latvian capital Riga next May.
National coach Toni Söderholm As at the 2019 World Cup, his team is once again dueling with his country of birth, Finland. In total, three of the next seven World Cup opponents were also part of the German group at last year's tournament in Slovakia DEBteam reached the quarterfinals and finished sixth in the final rankings. Group A with the second host Belarus plays in Minsk.
DEB-Sports director Stefan Schaidnagel says: “Next year's World Cup will be very interesting in terms of sport, as all teams will approach the tournament with the highest commitment as the last major event before the Winter Olympics in China. This is another reason why this World Cup will give us important insights on the way to Beijing. As usual, both groups are top-class. Playing against Latvia in Riga will be an absolute highlight for our team. Our objective is clear: We want to continue the positive trend of recent years.”
National coach Toni Söderholm says: “I find the group very interesting. Italy and Kazakhstan are two teams that I'm not too familiar with yet, but that will change between now and the tournament. We will also meet the two finalists from the last World Cup, which will again be important challenges for the development of the team. In Slovakia we also played against the hosts, it was very loud and very competitive, and it will definitely be the same in Riga. For us it now means that we make the best of the current situation and prepare in the best way.”
The group division for the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship 2021 in Latvia (Riga) and Belarus (Minsk):
Group B (Riga) - Germany, Canada, Finland, USA, Latvia, Norway, Italy, Kazakhstan
Group A (Minsk) – Russia, Sweden, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Slovakia, Denmark, Great Britain, Belarus
The last German international matches against the group opponents in 2021:
> DEB vs. Canada 1:8 at the 2019 World Cup
> DEB vs. Finland 4:2 at the 2019 World Cup
> DEB vs. USA 1:3 at the 2019 World Cup
> DEB vs. Latvia 1:3 at the 2018 World Cup
> DEB vs. Norway 4:5 nP at the 2018 World Cup
> DEB vs. Italy 4-1 at the 2017 World Cup
> DEB vs. Kazakhstan 4:1 in February 2014/Four Nations Tournament