Rosa Lindstedt celebrated the World Championship bronze with the Finnish team already 12 years ago at the Swiss Games. Since then, the champion defender has achieved one World Championship silver, three World Championship bronzes and two Olympic bronzes.
However, these World Cup competitions in Canada have been different for both the Finnish team and Lindstedt, because Finland played in the weaker B group for the first time.
– This kind of experience could now fit into my own career. That’s fine, Rosa Lindstedt, who was reached just before practice on Wednesday, laughed.
Finland played in its initial group against Germany, Sweden, Hungary and France and won the group with a clean game and a goal difference of 26–3. This was the team’s goal, but the experience was still new.
– The games have been more like that, where we have been on the ball and the driver is there. That’s certainly good for the quarterfinals. We have a good feeling about scoring goals and attacking. We have not only had to defend.
Lindstedt would flag in favor of changing the game system
Even though the matches have not offered Finland the same kind of opposition as, for example, the United States and Canada in the A group would have offered, in Lindstedt’s opinion, there are no so-called easy games in the World Cup. You have to prepare in the same way and do the same work for every game. Lindstedt resorts to similar routines in every match.
– Of course, we look at small game-related things and look at the emphasis, but I myself have pretty much the same formula with which I prepare for games.
Now that Finland has played in Group B for the first time, Lindstedt thinks this World Cup game system is quite brutal. In group A, the teams can play without pressure throughout the first series, as the place in the quarterfinals is certain. In Group B, every match has its meaning.
– I would hope that, little by little, it could be considered that there would be two equal groups, which would then become the quarter-final opponents by playing crosswise. Year by year, the games become more even and tighter, including those against the North Americans.
A tough group to attack
Semi-finals and against the Czech Republic. It has been a more familiar combination for Naisleijon, because this has happened three times before. According to Lindstedt, the team was a bit nervous before the games that this would happen.
– We have changed places in the groups, but here we are still facing each other. We know what’s coming from there.
According to Lindstedt, the Czech Republic is good at playing on the puck and in its five-man game. The team also has effective defenders who bravely get involved in the attacking game.
– They are able to play with small passes past the players, and it is a really tough group to attack.
The Czech Republic defeated Japan 2–1 in overtime in its last match of the first group and thus secured the third place in the A group. Lindstedt believes that the team at least has the confidence right, so Finland must be alert from the start.
“Let’s keep calm until the end”
The Czech Republic’s defensive game is not as strong as its offensive game, so Finland has to attack it. Lindstedt thinks it is important that Finland is able to stick to its own way of playing.
– We must be able to stick to our plan. Play together as a tight five all the time, on every side of the field, defend well and use the places you get to your advantage, Lindstedt listed and emphasized that there is no result by playing solo.
– We showed in the Sweden game that we don’t panic, no matter what the numbers are on the scoreboard. We know we can turn the games around. Let’s just keep calm until the end, Lindstedt said.
In the match against Sweden, Finland was down 0–2 after two sets, but rose to a 4–2 victory at the end of the third set.
The semi-final match is important in many ways. The medal games are interesting, but also the fact that if Finland wins the Czech Republic, it will ensure its return to the A group.
– The semi-final match is always what determines the result of these games. In that way, it’s a pressure game, Lindstedt said.
– Let’s focus on what we do ourselves. Let’s play at our own level and go together as a team, that’s key.