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Ice Hockey World Championship: DEB team before prestige duel: “Have to play as a collective”

Ice Hockey World Championship: DEB team before prestige duel: “Have to play as a collective”

Will Germany pull off another coup against the favorites from Switzerland in the quarter-finals of the World Cup? The players say that the team can only do it collectively against what is perhaps the best World Cup team so far.

With their team spirit, the German national ice hockey team wants to survive again in the quarter-finals of the World Cup against the favorites Switzerland. “We have to play as a collective,” demanded NHL attacker Nico Sturm before the prestige duel in the afternoon (3:20 p.m. / Sport1 and MagentaSport) in Riga.

Germany had already won there two years ago in the World Cup quarterfinals against Switzerland 3:2 after a penalty shootout. “The Swiss are even stronger than two years ago,” said defender Leon Gawanke, who was also on the ice in Riga in 2021. “But we also proved that we can play well.”

Sturm raves about the Swiss team

Stanley Cup winner Sturm described Switzerland as “probably the best team in the tournament”. Nevertheless, the selection of the German Ice Hockey Federation has all the options again. “Our cohesion is always what has made us strong. And not just any individual player or star from somewhere. If we keep our identity, it gives us a good chance of winning the game,” said Sturm.

Ex-NHL striker Dominik Kahun, who now plays for SC Bern, also expects a “very, very strong opponent with superstars from the NHL”. The 27-year-old also said: “We just have to stick together as a team again. We all subordinate ourselves to the team. Nobody sees themselves as stars here.”

National coach Harold Kreis, who had been the German assistant coach when Germany won the quarter-finals of the World Cup against Switzerland in 2010, was deliberately focused before the explosive duel. “I’m having trouble remembering the last game. I don’t think back that far, I’m just thinking about the game now,” said the 64-year-old, who asked his team to “stay in structure and play quickly “.

Source: Stern

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