Alexander Rinefalk and Thailand booked a place in the semifinals of the 2024 Men’s Floorball World Championship Qualifiers, defeating a gritty New Zealand side, 6-3, on Wednesday at the Philsports Arena.
With the Southeast Asian win, along with the Philippines’ rout of South Korea in the other Group G match, the two sides will enter their much-anticipated matchup undefeated after two games each.
The encounter between the two 2022 Worlds sides is set for 4 p.m. on Thursday.
“It was a very tight game. New Zealand played well, and they have a very good goalkeeper. I can also say that we were a bit inefficient with our shots. We could have scored more goals, but in the end, the win is all that matters,” the Unihockey Basel Regio forward said.
Rinefalk was a crucial part of Thailand’s offensive machine, assisting in three of the side’s six goals, all of which came to restore two-point cushions just as the Kiwis came breathing down their necks.
In the other group, Group F, Australia moved within a win of a three-game sweep, with goalkeeper Edwin Perry leading the way in an 8-3 win against Singapore.
The victory is important for the Aussies, as the race for the top two spots in their pool is still up for grabs against Japan and even the Singaporeans.
Japan, though, took the upper hand with a 14-5 rout of China and set up a huge battle against Australia at 1 p.m. on Thursday.
With the game hanging in the balance at three goals all, the Japanese scored 11 unanswered points to break away from their neighbors, with Hiroto Moriya drilling in two and assisting in two more during that span.
Peng Tao ended the game with two more goals for China, but the lead was too much to handle for the returnees.
Singapore will try to sneak into the semifinals when they face China in Thursday’s curtain-raiser at 10 a.m.
The final Group G game and the last match of the group phase action will be at 7 p.m. between South Korea and New Zealand.
