According to the results of yesterday's World Cup match, the men's national team is in early World Cup quarterfinals. In the final preliminary round game against France (Tuesday, 12:20 p.m.), the team from National coach Harold Kreis now secure the optimal starting position for the final round. It currently stands DEB-Selection in third place in Group B with twelve points. The national team has secured participation in the quarter-finals for the fifth time in a row. Since 2019 the DEB-Selection reached the round of the best eight teams.
First against France, then wait for the quarter-final opponent
The opponent in the World Cup quarter-finals will be decided on Tuesday evening. Possible opponents are Canada, Switzerland or the Czech Republic. The venue (Prague or Ostrava) and the exact time will also be decided then. After a "day off" yesterday, Sunday, which was all about regeneration, the national team got ready for the remaining group match against France on Monday morning. Among other things, an hour-long ice training session in Ostrava was on the agenda.
Current voices from today's training:
DEB-Sports director Christian Künast: “It is remarkable that we were able to qualify for the quarter-finals again before the last preliminary round game and prevail in the strong Group B. It speaks for our great consistency and the hard work of the national team that we will be in the World Cup finals for the fifth time in a row. We want to achieve a successful preliminary round against France and then prepare optimally for the upcoming quarter-finals on Thursday.”
National coach Harold Kreis: “Of course we feel a certain relief that we have already secured the quarter-finals before the end of the group phase. Nevertheless, the game against France is very important for us. On the one hand, because it is about the best possible ranking for international comparison. On the other hand, we want to play against France with good structure and full commitment in order to take that into the quarter-finals. We at the coaching staff are preparing the game against France as usual. At the same time, we are already starting to look at possible opponents so that we are well prepared as soon as the quarter-final game is determined.”
Captain Moritz Müller: “I understand that from the outside it will be more normal if we reach the quarter-finals. But for us and me this is not a given. It's not easy to reach the finals of a World Cup. Even if the results against Latvia and Kazakhstan were clear in the end, they are opponents who have to be beaten first. Just like a duel at eye level against Slovakia. There are always moments in the tournament or during the games when we have to adjust ourselves to get a result like this. We managed that well this time and in previous years.”
Striker Dominik Kahun: “We now have one more game before the quarter-finals in which we want to show our best side. We certainly won't put less into the game just because we're already qualified. We will also be 100 percent ready tomorrow. We are still pleased that we have achieved our first goal by taking part in the finals. Tomorrow we’ll concentrate on our game first, then we’ll look at the other group.”