I can’t even see the silver medal anymore, said the Swiss coach after the loss in the World Championship final. We wanted gold, added Kevin Fiala

On the one hand there is joy, on the other disappointment. That’s just the way it goes in any final clash at any big tournament. While the Czechs were overjoyed after the World Cup final, it was the opposite on the Swiss bench.

It was then that David Pastrňák with an incredible bomb overcame the Swiss goalkeeper Leonardo Genoni and shot the Czech national team gold medals. Nineteen seconds before the final siren, David Kämpf secured the Czech victory with a shot into the empty net.

The hockey players with the Helvetic Cross on their jerseys had a clear goal heading into the World Championship finals. To become the ninth country to win gold medals at the World Championship.

But it didn’t happen. On the contrary, it was the Czechs who extended their collection of overall championships at the World Championship and now occupy the third place in the historical ranking of hockey countries.

For the Swiss, therefore, it can be a consolation to at least repeat their success from 2018, when they also reached the silver medals. Then, at the World Championship in Denmark, they fell short to the Swedes (2:3), and this year it was the Czech hockey team that put a stop to them. The Swiss national team was also unable to beat Tre Kronor in 2013 (1:5).

This year, Switzerland was not able to do it even with several NHL stars. Kevin Fiala, Nino Niederreiter, Roman Josi and Nico Hischier have strengthened the national team. The former at least won the MVP award for the whole World Championship.

“We lost the final, it’s a real shame. It’s hard to deal with the emotions now. I don’t care if I’m the MVP, we wanted the gold,” Fiala said after losing the final, as quoted by Hockey.cz.

“I can’t even see the silver medal anymore. It’s not a nice feeling, we were so close. We are at the bottom, but everyone who watches us and knows the team knows that we will not give up. We’ll learn and move on,” said Swiss coach Patrick Fischer.

Source: IIHF, Hockey.cz, Ice Hockey World Championship 2024