The German U20 national team has secured its place in the top division of the World Cup and will also compete in the A group of the best nations next year. In the relegation duel against Kazakhstan, the team of national coach Tobias Abstreiter won 4:3. Goal scorers for the DEB-Selection were Maxim Schäfer (2), Edwin Tropmann and Julius Sumpf. After a stay of almost four weeks in North America, the U20 team will return to Germany on Friday evening.
After the narrow defeat against Latvia, the German team had to remain optimistic and win against the Kazakhs. Remaining in the top group of the World Cup Just like the DEBThe team from Central Asia had collected one point during the preliminary round and had to go into the relegation round as the last in Group B. Everything was set for another nerve-wracking thriller.
In the German goal Linus Vieillard another mission – both DEB-Goalies had shown convincing performances during the tournament. It started with the first big chance by Samanski (2nd), but a little later the Kazakhs were able to celebrate after a deflected shot by Ruslanuly (4th). But what an answer: Only nine seconds later Maxim Schaefer the immediate equalizer after he deflected a shot into the goal with his shin. As a result, it was the Kazakhs who were initially more dangerous in their attacks. But the longer the third lasted, the better the DEBselection and could have taken the lead several times. The second goal for Kazakhstan came as a bit of a surprise after Vieillard was able to fend off a Kazakh solo effort. But Sitnikov (18.) outwitted the DEB-Goalkeeper skillfully followed up to make it 1-2 at halftime.
The U20 team started the second half with a lot of energy, but the Kazakhs were on the offensive again. Gross (23.) initially extended the lead. But the German team kept their nerve and worked their way back into the game. The DEBteam through two consecutive penalties against the Kazakhs: The double majority again took advantage Maxim Schaefer (24th) to score the next goal. And with one more man on the ice, Edwin Tropmann just 21 seconds later, the celebrated equaliser – what a response! Even after that, the German team gained more of the game, but despite numerous opportunities on both sides, no further goals were scored.
The decision had to be made in the final section. And here the German team held its nerve. Already in the 44th minute of the game, Julius Sumpf, who scored the redeeming goal in the power play. After that, the German team managed to keep control of the game better than in the previous thirds. The Kazakhs launched a final offensive a few minutes before the end. But the DEBThe selection held firm and focused. The final result was close, meaning they remained in the top division.
Best player of the match Maxim Schäfer was one of the best players of the tournament Carlos Händel, Julius Sumpf and Linus Vieillard were appointed for Team GER.
Sports director Christian Künast: "We are happy and relieved that we have secured our place in the top division. Our U20 national team has thus been rewarded for its tournament performance, in which we had many good phases against the top teams at this World Cup, especially during the preliminary round. Unfortunately, we were not able to qualify for the quarter-finals - which would certainly have been possible. We must and will work on this, because we want to achieve more than just the relegation round like this time and in previous years. Nevertheless, we are pleased that the team showed nerves of steel in today's important game and was able to prevail in the end. A big thank you goes to our national coach Tobias Abstreiter, his entire staff and all the players for four weeks of intensive cooperation in North America."
U20 national coach Tobias Abstreiter: "I am very proud of the team! Also of the way we were able to win this decisive game after being 1-3 down. That shows the great character of the team. Of course we didn't play our best game today, but it was certainly a very special situation for many players that they had never experienced before. That is also why I am even more pleased that we were able to stay in the top division in the end! I would like to thank all the players and my staff for their great work over the past few weeks."
Captain Edwin Tropmann: "Today, in a close game, we showed that we have grown together as a team over the last few weeks. We have steadily improved over the games and achieved good results, which few expected. I am very proud of our performance, even though we did not make it to the quarter-finals against Latvia. We rewarded ourselves for our performance today, threw everything into the game, and ultimately celebrated staying in the top division together."
Full Statistics for the game there is on the IIHF tournament website.
The game plan DEB-Selection at the U20 World Championship in Ottawa (Canada):
26.12.2024 | USA – Germany 10:4 (2:0, 4:2, 4:2)
27.12.2024 | Germany – Finland 1:3 (0:1, 1:1, 0:1)
December 30.12.2024, XNUMX | Canada – Germany 3:0 (1:0, 0:0, 2:0)
30.12.2024 | Germany – Latvia 3:4 aet (1:0, 1:1, 1:2, 0:1)
02.01.2025 | Germany – Kazakhstan 4:3 (1:2, 2:1, 1:0)