The Swiss national ice hockey team lost 0:2 to the Czech Republic in the final and missed out on its first world championship title. The hosts scored both goals in the last third.
The Swiss were in a World Cup final for the third time. The last two times they lost to Sweden. In 2013 they had no chance and lost 1:5. In 2018 the decision was only made in the penalty shootout. And now Switzerland also missed out on the title against the Czech Republic. So the Swiss had to settle for silver for the fourth time. In 1935, when there were no knockout rounds, they also took second place.
The duel between the two finalists in the preliminary round was only decided in a penalty shootout with the score at 1:1. The Swiss came out on top. Since then, the Czechs have added three more NHL players, David Pastrnak, Pavel Zacha and Martin Necas. And this time too, it was a game of patience.
Switzerland showed strong defensive play
Both teams defended very disciplined. The solid defense was a strength of the Swiss practically throughout the entire tournament, and the box play also held up in the final. They were also able to rely on Leonardo Genoni again. The 36-year-old goalkeeper of EV Zug gave his teammates security with his body language.
In the 50th minute, however, Genoni was also beaten, and Pastrnak scored with a powerful direct shot after a pass from defender Tomas Kundratek. It was the first point in the fourth game of this tournament for the Boston Bruins star striker, who had collected an incredible 223 points in the last two NHL qualifiers. Now he is even more revered in the Czech Republic, because the Swiss were unable to react. 19 seconds before the end, David Kämpf made everything clear with a shot into the empty net.
Missed opportunity in the 17th minute
The Czechs started with a lot of pressure and had a clear advantage in the first third. In the 5th minute, the Swiss were lucky that Czech captain Roman Cervenka was unable to get the puck in the best position in front of the goal. The Swiss had little going forward, but they almost took the lead in the 17th minute. Christoph Bertschy’s shot from the half-right position hit the post.
In the middle period, the Swiss found their way into the game better without creating much of a goal threat. The best chance was missed by Nino Niederreiter in the 37th minute during the power play from the slot, but he was unable to get the puck past Czech keeper Lukas Dostal. Shortly before the second break, the Swiss survived a period of pressure from the Eastern Europeans, during which David Kämpf had a shot that hit the post.
For the Czechs, it was the 13th world championship title, the first since 2010. After that, they won bronze three more times up until Sunday, including a year ago. Nevertheless, the work with coach Kari Jalonen was terminated. The Finn, the first foreign coach of the Czech national team, who had previously led Bern to two championship titles, was replaced by Radim Rulik. This paid off. The organizers also recorded a record total of 797,727 spectators. The World Cup could not have gone better for the Czechs.
In the hall, the Czech players presented the World Cup trophy to the euphoric fans, while the Swiss, with the silver medal around their necks, walked through the area where the interviews with journalists take place, very disappointed. “The cool atmosphere actually gave us a boost. We played a very good game, it could have gone our way,” said captain Roman Josi, who was voted the tournament’s best defender.
«Hard to accept»
That’s exactly why the sting was even deeper. “We had an incredible will to win and believed throughout the entire game that we would win. The fact that it didn’t work out is difficult to accept at the moment,” continued Josi. The 33-year-old from Bern was already there at the final defeats in 2013 and 2018. “You never know when you’ll be in the final at a World Cup again, the road to get there is extremely long, which is why we would have loved to bring the trophy back to Switzerland.”
Josi’s friend and roommate Nino Niederreiter, for whom it was also the third World Cup silver medal – as was goalie Reto Berra – compared the match to a game of chess. “Both teams played in a very structured manner.” What was missing that prevented them from scoring? “That’s difficult to say. The will was certainly there, we fought until the end, tried everything to somehow get the puck into the goal.”
Fischer full of praise
As always, national coach Patrick Fischer faced the press at the end. “Everything actually worked out. We knew that the longer we kept going, the more nervous they would get,” he said. When part of the plexiglass had to be replaced in the 48th minute with the score at 0-0, he swore the whole team in again. “I wanted to bring some more energy into the game, but unfortunately it was no use.” On the contrary: Two minutes later, the decisive 0-1 was scored.
Fischer did not blame the team: “You can’t give more than everything. What we achieved here was incredible. We showed what it means to stand up for each other, to fight for each other. It hurts, we were ready for the final step, but I always say the same thing: ‘I am so grateful to be able to coach such players with my staff.’ We will not give up, we now have enough silver medals.”
Fischer had nothing but praise for the tournament. “In terms of organization and the fans, it was the best World Cup I’ve ever experienced. They can be happy. We will certainly not forget the time here.” When asked that they would now win the gold medal at the home World Cup – which will take place in Zurich and Freiburg in 2026 – Fischer replied: “That would be a good plan.”