PHOTO: Bildbyrån
Mikael Renberg went hard for both Sweden and Latvia after Tre Kronor’s exit from the hockey World Cup.
Now the Latvian star player Rodrigo Abols strikes back against the SVT expert.
With a perfectly clear answer actually.
Tre Kronor were big favorites against Latvia in the WC quarter-finals on Thursday evening. But everything ended in a huge shock for little Latvia, who won 3-1 and are now advancing to a WC semi-final for the first time in the nation’s history.
Sweden’s fiasco
For Sweden, it is a huge fiasco that for the fifth year in a row they do not go further than the quarter-finals in the hockey World Cup. The SVT expert Mikael Renberg was very critical of Tre Kronor’s effort after the exit and classified Latvia as a team in the Swedish HockeyAllsvenskan.
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After the resounding victory, the Latvian star player and the Swedish acquaintance are now hitting Rodrigo Abols back towards the devaluation. First of all, he was extremely impressed by his team’s effort, which was also highlighted by the home supporters.
– The pressure in here is magical. They push us forward in every change and are our seventh player, says Abols to SportExpressen.
– It was a team effort. We block shots, they might be more skilled, but we work hard defensively and we’re ready to go all the way.
READ MORE: Tre Kronor strikes back after Mikael Renberg’s thunderous sawing in the World Cup fiasco: “It’s brutal”
Renberg’s criticism
The Latvian has many years in Sweden and games in Örebro behind him. Next season there will also be games in Rögle, and that is why it was so special to defeat Tre Kronor in Latvia’s greatest match.
– It is very special. I know the guys there and have played in Sweden for a long time. Now we celebrate a little extra today and then we drive on, but right now I don’t even know who we meet, says Abols in the interview.
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Then he just laughs at Renberg’s words about Latvia as a team as good as an Allsvenskan team. Rodrigo Abols then gives a perfectly clear answer to the SVT expert.
– He can think what he wants, but we will continue in the tournament, he says to the evening newspaper.
READ MORE: The hard words of the Three Kronor legends after the new World Cup fiasco: “Being hyped like superstars”
Latvia now face Canada in the World Cup semi-final and the question is whether they have a new giant in them. In the other World Cup semi-final, the USA will face another formidable team in Germany, who knocked out Switzerland in another feat.
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