Thailand advanced to the 2024 Men’s Floorball World Championship after a comprehensive 10-1 victory over Singapore in the semifinals of the Asia Oceania Qualifiers on Friday at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
The win also sent them into the final against fellow qualifier Philippines the following day at 3:00 PM.
“I’m very proud of this team. We have been working hard to prepare for this. I knew that Singapore would be tough, much like our game against the Philippines,” said long-time captain Pawat Thaidit.
“I am from Bangkok, but I live in Malmö, so this is very important to me,” he added, noting that this year’s championships will be held in Malmö, Sweden.
The Thais, who are in their fifth straight Worlds, exploded for five goals in the second period to turn a slim 2-1 advantage into a more comfortable 7-1 lead.
Forward Simon Johansson scored thrice in the period, eventually breaking the Singaporeans’ resistance, while the latter could not breach Kevin Hoeglenius’ defense.
Alexander Rinefalk opened the scoring for Thailand just as the first period reached its halfway point before Singapore’s Muhammad Irwan Shaiful found an equalizer.
A goal from Veerasak Pimpa restored the lead for the reigning SEA Games champions and set up the second-period onslaught.
Meanwhile, New Zealand ended the tournament in seventh place, following a 9-3 victory over China.
Archie Cosslett scored the opening goal for the Kiwis before Timothy McKibbin scored three times in this classification match.
With Thailand and the Philippines now qualified, Australia and Singapore will compete for the last ticket to the Worlds at 1:00 PM on Saturday, following the fifth-place playoff between Korea and Japan at 9:00 AM.
