On Friday, the ice hockey team traveled to the World Cup host nation, the Czech Republic. The last two preparatory matches will be played in Brno.
Less than 24 hours after the unfortunate 2-1 defeat to Sweden in Kloten, Nati’s players returned to the ice. But not on Swiss ice, but on Czech ice. On Friday, the national team traveled from Zurich to Brno.
In the second-largest city in the World Cup host nation, Patrick Fischer’s side will play their final two warm-up matches on the European Hockey Tour at the weekend before getting serious in their World Cup opener against Norway in Prague in exactly a week’s time.
Everyone wants to impose themselves
It is not yet clear in detail which team Switzerland will start the World Cup with on May 10. “What we know is that we will definitely be here until Sunday,” says Sven Jong, who is hoping to make his World Cup debut. The 29-year-old HC Davos defender is aware that Nati’s current squad will undergo further mutations. On the one hand, it is almost certain that players from finalists ZSC Lions and Luzanne will join Fischer’s team in the Czech Republic, but on the other hand, officials are hoping for more reinforcements from the NHL.
25 players and 3 goalkeepers made the trip to Brno. Fischer is only allowed to register a maximum of 22 players and three goalkeepers with FIFA for a World Cup. But the competition for a place in the World Cup squad does not dampen the good mood, says Romain Lovell: “Everyone knows we won’t be playing with this squad anymore in a week. It’s just like that. We’re all here for a place.
The never-tired Ampol wants to score a hat-trick in Prague
While some other players from Nati’s current squad are dreaming of participating in a World Cup for the first time, Andres Ampol is already aiming to participate in a third World Cup in Prague alone. The 40-year-old was part of the Swiss squad in 2004 and 2015, when the title matches were also held in the Czech capital.
Ampol will be very happy to participate in the national team’s trip from Brno to Prague because: “It is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. “If you have the time, you should definitely see it once,” says the veteran enthusiastically. For Ampol, this will be It is the nineteenth (!) participation in the World Cup.
European Hockey Tour in the Czech Republic
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