Finland lost to Sweden in the under-19 women’s World Cup tournament in the first group 3-9, but fought more evenly against the western neighbor in the final.
Finland lost to Sweden 2-4 in the under-19 women’s floorball World Cup final in Lahti on Sunday.
Finnish goalkeeper Julia Saarinen was chosen as the best Finnish player in the final match. The goalkeeper promise was in STT’s interview with tears in his eyes.
– Feeling really disappointed. We didn’t set out to get this, the championship was the only goal, Saarinen told STT.
– Unbelievably great competitions. Also a big thank you to the family for their support. It’s a shame that I wasn’t able to give them back what they have sacrificed for me. The tournament memories will surely improve a little, as long as some time passes.
The final was witnessed in the sold-out Suurhalli in Lahti by a record audience for age-group women’s WC tournaments, 1,965 spectators.
During the tournament, a total of 15,941 spectators visited the stands, which is also a record for the U19 Games. The head coach Simo Leppänen thanked the indoor basketball people who visited the stands.
– It was a tremendous asset throughout the Games and it culminated today. Just add home games.
The mess was searched
In the opening group, Sweden bluntly defeated Finland 9–3, but the final match was more even. According to head coach Leppänen, the team improved its grip as the tournament progressed.
In addition to the losses against Sweden, Finland beat Poland and Norway in the opening group of the Games and defeated the Czech Republic 3–2 in overtime in the semifinals.
– Big hats off to the team. They were able to improve the whole week and overcome the mess that came from Thursday, but today just wasn’t enough. The week was upbeat, and yesterday was a really tough game after all the pressure of the first group. It was taken care of, the lines were put together and today was a neat performance, Leppänen said in the floor band association’s press release.
Sweden took the lead in the match right at the end of the opening set, when Mira Markström succeeded in scoring. In the second round Ellen Lund doubled the lead of the western neighbors.
At the beginning of the final set Elin Dominicus made the score 3–0 after the free kick. Markström was able to escape and score his second goal of the evening six and a half minutes before full time.
Finland was still tuning in for the finale, when Iida Sinko and Elsa Holopainen finished the goals, but the team didn’t get any closer.
– In the first set, especially, we got the upper hand and went five-three. This is a scoring game. Sweden was ahead in scoring, when four scored and we only scored two. We were ahead in many areas, but we couldn’t accumulate them on that board, Leppänen said.
Bronze is celebrated by the Czech Republic, which beat Switzerland 5–1 in the final match.
Finland now has two world championships (2012 and 2021), seven silver and two bronze medals from under-19 women’s World Cup tournaments.