IIHF World Championship: Kirk holds key to Team GB survival bid

LIAM KIRK will be the man to watch as Team GB attempt to survive at the top level in the ice hockey World Championship - again.

Held in Czech Republic until 26 May, Great Britain skaters will compete against the best teams in the world for the fourth time in five years.

That in itself is a remarkable feat considering Team GB had languished in the lower divisions for exactly a quarter of a century between 1994 and 2019.

The first breakthrough in this new era actually came in 2017 before Kirk had made his debut back when Britain beat Croatia (4-2), Estonia (5-1), Lithuania (5-2), Netherlands (14-0), and Japan (4-0) to gain promotion from the third tier.

One year later, like London buses, a second successive gold medal arrived after victories against Slovenia (3-1), Poland (5-3) and Italy (4-3) set up a tie on the last night against hosts Hungary, from which Britain needed to force overtime for at least a point.

Trailing 3-2 with 15 seconds of regular time remaining, Robert Farmer scrambled in an equaliser - and, for good measure, GB then won the shootout after a goalless period of overtime.

In 2019, Team GB at times endured a tough baptism of fire in the top division in Slovakia, suffering notable thrashings against the hosts (1-7), Canada (0-8) and Denmark (0-9).

But France were also without a win ahead of what became a decider in the final round of preliminary fixtures.

A tight opening period was shaded by Team GB. In the second period, though, the tie shifted decidedly in favour of the French as, devastatingly, they scored three times in four minutes and one second of play.

Two of the goals came just six seconds apart - and a previously even game had taken on a very uneven score.

Yet, remarkably, the British team kept their nerve, and began to dominate. First, Robert Dowd finished neatly from a pass by Ben O'Connor - then, three minutes later, Hammond reduced the lead down to one after O'Connor's shot had been parried.

By then, the momentum switch was obvious - and, with 14 minutes still to go, Farmer found another vital goal in his locker.

Neither team could find a winner in regulation time - but, in overtime, skipper Jonathan Phillips held off some close attention down the left and found Ben Davies in front of the net.

Davies made no mistake - and Team GB were going to Switzerland in 2020 - or so they thought.

Instead, the COVID-19 pandemic arrived putting the whole planet, and not just the ice hockey world, on hold.

The effects were still being felt in 2021, of course - and GB were able to play in the World Championship without fear of being relegated with all of the lower divisions cancelled.

As a matter of fact, though, Britain would have stayed up in any case with their 4-3 win over Belarus - and they had improved notably on their 2019 performance, scoring more goals and conceding far fewer.

In particular, Kirk starred throughout, scoring seven goals which, along with his two assists, led to him being named among the tournament all-star players.

However, the spectre of relegation returned in 2022 - and Britain entered the Championship with a forward line truly ravaged by injury.

Kirk, Hammond and Ollie Betteridge were all ruled out - so it was no surprise that Britain could not stand the heat as they slumped to the bottom of the overall top division standings following seven defeats out of seven,  six of them coming in regular time.

Nevertheless, Pete Russell's men refused to feel too sorry for themselves - and, had the advantage of home ice for the Division 1A campaign at the Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham in spring last year.

There, they regained their seat at the very top table by beating South Korea (4-0), Poland (5-4 in overtime), Lithuania (3-0), Romania (7-0), and - in a decider - Italy (5-3).

Mere survival again is the order of the day this time then - and frankly those hopes will be placed heavily upon the talented young shoulders of Kirk.

The 24-year-old left wing forward from Maltby in North Yorkshire became the first player born and trained in England to be selected by an NHL team when he was drafted by the Arizona Coyotes in 2018.

Having most recently plied his trade at HC Litvinov on the Czech-German border in the Czech Extraliga, Kirk should feel somewhat at home in Prague. 

Meanwhile, he will be supported in attack by the likes of Cade Neilson, Dowd, Davies, Betteridge and Brett Perlini.

In defence, Team GB strongly favours experience with Mark Richardson, David Phillips, Evan Mosey and O'Connor all well beyond the age of 30.

And if they lack the legs to see out a shift, head coach Russell will need his goalkeepers, first-choice Ben Bowns and back-up Jackson Whistle, to perform at the top of their game - even in the more winnable matches against 12th-ranked Norway and 16th-ranked Austria. 

So, this tournament is expected to be an uphill struggle as ever. Additionally, Britain's form heading into the main event could have been better.

Back-to-back wins over Poland were tarnished by the concession of late goals in both matches, the second of which forced GB to penalty shots - while the latest international against Kazakhstan ended in a 5-2 defeat.

Britain also face a hideous start with ties against the top two in the world rankings - Canada and Finland - on the first weekend.

Russell must hope the confidence of his squad is not too damaged by their opening foray ahead of matches against Switzerland, Denmark and Czech Republic - and the vital last two of the preliminary stage against Norway and Austria.

Nevertheless, squad togetherness has been a feature throughout Russell's 10-year tenure in charge - and that, along with Kirk obvious sparkling quality, might just be enough for Great Britain to get over the line once more.

TEAM GB SQUAD
Head coach Pete Russell
Netminders Ben Bowns (Cardiff Devils) - Lucas Brine (Dundee Stars) - Jackson Whistle (Belfast Giants)
Defence Josh Batch (Cardiff Devils) - Nathanael Halbert (HC Innsbruck) - Sam Jones (Sheffield Steelers) - Evan Mosey (Cardiff Devils) - Ben O'Connor (Guildford Flames) - David Phillips (Belfast Giants) - Mark Richardson (Cardiff Devils) - Sam Ruopp (Lausitzer Fuechse) - Josh Tetlow (Nottingham Panthers)
Forwards Ollie Betteridge (Nottingham Panthers) - Cam Critchlow (Manchester Storm) - Johnny Curran (Coventry Blaze) - Ben Davies (Cardiff Devils) - Robert Dowd (c) (Sheffield Steelers) - Sam Duggan (Cardiff Devils) - Liam Kirk (HC Litvinov) - Robert Lachowicz (Glasgow Clan) - Ben Lake (Belfast Giants) - Cade Neilson (Alaska Nanooks) - Sean Norris (Belfast Giants) - Brett Perlini (Saale Bulls) - Cole Shudra (Sheffield Steelers)

TEAM GB FIXTURES AND RESULTS

			Score	Periods	Team GB goals	Team GB assists
Sat 11-May	11:20	CANADA	L2-4	(1-1, 0-3, 1-0)	Kirk (PP) O'Connor	Mosey, Lake Kirk, Betteridge
Sun 12-May	11:20	FINLAND	L0-8	(0-1, 0-5, 0-2)
Wed 15-May	19:20	SWITZERLAND	L0-3	(0-2, 0-1, 0-0)
Fri 17-May	15:20	DENMARK	L3-4	(2-2, 1-1, 0-1)	Kirk Neilson Halbert	Curran, Ruopp Mosey, Lake Lachowicz, Perlini
Sat 18-May	19:20	CZECH REPUBLIC	L1-4	(0-2, 1-2, 0-0)	Mosey (PP)	Kirk, O'Connor
Mon 20-May	15:20	NORWAY	L2-5	(0-3, 1-1, 1-1)	Perlini Betteridge	Dowd, O'Connor Lake, Mosey
Tue 21-May	11:20	AUSTRIA	W4-2	(0-0, 1-1, 3-1)	O'Connor (PP) Perlini (PP) Mosey Dowd	Lake Dowd, O'Connor Duggan, Tetlow Perlini

TEAM GB PLAYER POINTS
2+3 Evan Mosey
2+3 Ben O'Connor
2+2 Liam Kirk
2+2 Brett Perlini

1+2 Robert Dowd

1+1 Ollie Betteridge

1+0 Nathanael Halbert
1+0 Cade Neilson
0+4 Ben Lake
0+1 Johnny Curran
0+1 Sam Duggan

0+1 Robert Lachowicz
0+1 Sam Ruopp

0+1 Josh Tetlow

TOURNAMENT FIXTURES AND RESULTS

Date	Time	GROUP A		O2 Arena, Prague	Periods
10-May	15:20	SWITZERLAND	5-2	NORWAY	(1-1, 3-0, 1-1)
10-May	19:20	CZECH REPUBLIC	1-0 GWS	FINLAND	(0-0, 0-0, 0-0, 0-0 OT)
11-May	11:20	GREAT BRITAIN	2-4	CANADA	(1-1, 0-3, 1-0)
11-May	15:20	AUSTRIA	1-5	DENMARK	(1-2, 0-1, 0-2)
11-May	19:20	NORWAY	3-6	CZECH REPUBLIC	(3-2, 0-1, 0-3)
12-May	11:20	FINLAND	8-0	GREAT BRITAIN	(1-0, 5-0, 2-0)
12-May	15:20	DENMARK	1-5	CANADA	(0-2, 1-0, 0-3)
12-May	19:20	AUSTRIA	5-6	SWITZERLAND	(2-1, 2-3, 1-2)
13-May	15:20	NORWAY	1-4	FINLAND	(0-2, 1-2, 0-0)
13-May	19:20	SWITZERLAND	2-1 GWS	CZECH REPUBLIC	(1-0, 0-1, 0-0, 0-0 OT)
14-May	15:20	DENMARK	0-2	NORWAY	(0-0, 0-1, 0-1)
14-May	19:20	CANADA	7-6 OT	AUSTRIA	(3-1, 3-0, 0-5, 1-0 OT)
15-May	15:20	CZECH REPUBLIC	7-4	DENMARK	(1-1, 2-1, 4-2)
15-May	19:20	SWITZERLAND	3-0	GREAT BRITAIN	(2-0, 1-0, 0-0)
16-May	15:20	FINLAND	2-3	AUSTRIA	(2-0, 0-1, 0-2)
16-May	19:20	CANADA	4-1	NORWAY	(1-0, 1-0, 2-1)
17-May	15:20	GREAT BRITAIN	3-4	DENMARK	(2-2, 1-1, 0-1)
17-May	19:20	CZECH REPUBLIC	4-0	AUSTRIA	(1-0, 2-0, 1-0)
18-May	11:20	DENMARK	0-8	SWITZERLAND	(0-2, 0-3, 0-3)
18-May	15:20	CANADA	5-3	FINLAND	(2-2, 1-1, 2-0)
18-May	19:20	CZECH REPUBLIC	4-1	GREAT BRITAIN	(2-0, 2-1, 0-0)
19-May	15:20	NORWAY	1-4	AUSTRIA	(0-0, 0-3, 1-1)
19-May	19:20	SWITZERLAND	2-3	CANADA	(1-1, 1-2, 0-0)
20-May	15:20	GREAT BRITAIN	2-5	NORWAY	(0-3, 1-1, 1-1)
20-May	19:20	FINLAND	3-1	DENMARK	(0-0, 0-0, 3-1)
21-May	11:20	AUSTRIA	2-4	GREAT BRITAIN	(0-0, 1-1, 1-3)
21-May	15:20	CANADA	4-3 OT	CZECH REPUBLIC	(0-0, 0-0, 3-3, 1-0 OT)
21-May	19:20	FINLAND	1-3	SWITZERLAND	(0-0, 1-2, 0-1)

Date	Time	GROUP B		Ostravar Arena, Ostrava	Periods
10-May	15:20	SLOVAKIA	4-6	GERMANY	(0-0, 2-3, 2-3)
10-May	19:20	SWEDEN	5-2	UNITED STATES	(1-0, 2-1, 2-1)
11-May	11:20	FRANCE	1-3	KAZAKHSTAN	(1-2, 0-1, 0-0)
11-May	15:20	POLAND	4-5 OT	LATVIA	(1-0, 1-1, 2-3, 0-1 OT)
11-May	19:20	UNITED STATES	6-1	GERMANY	(2-0, 2-1, 2-0)
12-May	11:20	SLOVAKIA	6-2	KAZAKHSTAN	(3-0, 1-1, 2-1)
12-May	15:20	LATVIA	3-2 OT	FRANCE	(0-1, 0-0, 2-1, 1-0 OT)
12-May	19:20	SWEDEN	5-1	POLAND	(2-0, 1-0, 2-1)
13-May	15:20	UNITED STATES	4-5 OT	SLOVAKIA	(0-2, 1-2, 3-0, 0-1 OT)
13-May	19:20	GERMANY	1-6	SWEDEN	(0-3, 0-2, 1-1)
14-May	15:20	KAZAKHSTAN	0-2	LATVIA	(0-0, 0-2, 0-0)
14-May	19:20	POLAND	2-4	FRANCE	(0-2, 2-2, 0-0)
15-May	15:20	GERMANY	8-1	LATVIA	(2-0, 5-1, 1-0)
15-May	19:20	SLOVAKIA	4-0	POLAND	(2-0, 0-0, 2-0)
16-May	15:20	KAZAKHSTAN	1-3	SWEDEN	(0-1, 0-1, 1-1)
16-May	19:20	UNITED STATES	5-0	FRANCE	(4-0, 0-0, 1-0)
17-May	15:20	GERMANY	8-2	KAZAKHSTAN	(2-1, 3-0, 3-1)
17-May	19:20	POLAND	1-4	UNITED STATES	(0-0, 0-2, 1-2)
18-May	11:20	LATVIA	2-7	SWEDEN	(0-2, 2-4, 0-1)
18-May	15:20	GERMANY	4-2	POLAND	(0-0, 2-0, 2-2)
18-May	19:20	FRANCE	2-4	SLOVAKIA	(0-1, 1-2, 1-1)
19-May	15:20	UNITED STATES	10-1	KAZAKHSTAN	(4-0, 3-0, 3-1)
19-May	19:20	SLOVAKIA	2-3 GWS	LATVIA	(0-1, 0-0, 2-1, 0-0 OT)
20-May	15:20	SWEDEN	3-1	FRANCE	(0-0, 1-1, 2-0)
20-May	19:20	KAZAKHSTAN	3-1	POLAND	(1-1, 0-0, 2-0)
21-May	11:20	FRANCE	3-6	GERMANY	(1-1, 2-3, 0-2)
21-May	15:20	LATVIA	3-6	UNITED STATES	(0-2, 1-1, 2-3)
21-May	19:20	SWEDEN	6-1	SLOVAKIA	(1-0, 3-0, 2-1)

Another chance for England at Euro 2024

🟥 EURO 2024 FINALS 🟥

GROUP A	GROUP B	GROUP C	GROUP D
[A1] GERMANY	[B1] SPAIN	[C1] SLOVENIA	[D1] PLAYOFF [A]
[A2] SCOTLAND	[B2] CROATIA	[C2] DENMARK	[D2] NETHERLANDS
[A3] HUNGARY	[B3] ITALY	[C3] SERBIA	[D3] AUSTRIA
[A4] SWITZERLAND	[B4] ALBANIA	[C4] ENGLAND	[D4] FRANCE
	GROUP E	GROUP F
	[E1] BELGIUM	[F1] TURKEY
	[E2] SLOVAKIA	[F2] PLAYOFF [C]
	[E3] ROMANIA	[F3] PORTUGAL
	[E4] PLAYOFF [B]	[F4] CZECH REP

ENGLAND avoided the non-seeded big-hitters in the Euro 2024 finals draw to provide hope that the Three Lions may yet deliver a long-awaited major trophy next summer.

Gareth Southgate's side will take on Serbia in Gelsenkirchen on Sunday 16 June (8pm), Denmark in Frankfurt on Thursday 20 June (5pm), and Slovenia in Cologne on Tuesday 25 June (8pm) in Group C. 

The Danes sit 19th in the current FIFA World Rankings - while Serbia are 34th and Slovenia are rated at a lowly 54th place.

So, on that basis, it really is a section which should prove pretty facile for a country which can call upon the likes of Bundesliga top goalscorer Harry Kane, Declan Rice, Phil Foden, Bukayo Saka and Jude Bellingham. 

In particular, 20-year-old Bellingham has already made a huge impression in his debut season at Real Madrid with 15 goals and four assists in all competitions. 

An unused substitute as a teenager in the Euro 2020+1 Final at Wembley, the youngster genuinely could be the difference-maker this time if his overly-cautious head coach Southgate finally lets his players off the leash. 

Certainly, that tendency of Southgate to keep the handbrake on at vital moments remains the main concern for Three Lions supporters ahead of the tournament. 

Elsewhere, Scotland landed a far tougher-looking draw by being placed in Group A with hosts Germany, experienced tournament campaigners Switzerland, and a fast-improving Hungary side.

Indeed, the Scots will take centre stage in the tournament opener against the Germans in Munich on Friday 14 June (8pm) - before facing the Swiss in Cologne on Wednesday 19 June (8pm) and the Hungarians in Stuttgart on Sunday 23 June (8pm).

Some fine performances in qualifying - in which Scotland won their first five matches and beat Spain in Glasgow - provides hope north of the border that they might make it through the group stages of a major tournament for the first time ever. 

However, the Tartan Army will have definitely wanted a kinder result than that which was delivered at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg. 

After all, Steve Clarke's men are - at 36th in the world - the lowest-ranked team in their section, behind Germany who are 16th, Switzerland who are 18th, and Hungary who are 27th. 

In terms of the rest of the draw, outright favourites France must contend again with the latent threat of the Netherlands in Group D. 

The pair actually came through the same qualifying section with Les Bleus completing a comfortable double over the Oranje including a 4-0 thumping of the Dutch in Saint-Denis. 

As such, French coach Didier Deschamps probably will not have sleepless nights about their next meeting in Leipzig on Friday 21 June (8pm) - while the Netherlands will concentrate on finishing above Austria and the winners of Playoff Path [A], which could be Wales. 

Defending champions Italy - a definite bogey to avoid after being placed in Pot Four following recent struggles - face Spain in Group B in Gelsenkirchen on Thursday 20 June (8pm) in a repeat of the Euro 2012 final. 

Croatia - who the Italians have never beaten in eight previous attempts - and surprise package Albania complete that set.

Finally, grossly-overrated Belgium and the Cristiano Ronaldo-led Euro 2016 winners Portugal will be pleased with their own kindly draws.

The Red Devils take on Slovakia, Romania and the winners of Playoff Path [B] in Group E - while the Portuguese have been pitted against Turkey, Czech Republic and the winners of Playoff Path [C] in Group F.

Frankly, both of those seeded sides have ageing teams which are past their peak - but, equally, both should have enough to get past their limited opponents.

The countdown can start to the finals properly now, with an all-important interlude in March to determine the sides to qualify from the three playoff paths.

In Path [A], Poland will expect to progress against minnows Estonia while Wales take on Finland in Cardiff.

Then, with the playoff final also scheduled in the Welsh capital, the draw could not have really worked out much better for Cymru who could only finish third in their qualifying group behind Croatia and Turkey.

Troublesome Path [B] features two countries at war with Israel taking on Iceland and Ukraine facing Bosnia-Herzegovina, leaving the venue unconfirmed for one of the semi finals and indeed for the final if the Ukrainians make it through.

Meanwhile, Euro 2004 winners Greece are by far the biggest name in Path [C] - though their need for this route is a measure really of how far Greek football has fallen recently.

The Greeks take on Kazakhstan in Athens at the same time as Georgia face a vastly-improved Luxembourg outfit in Tblisi, with the final staged by the winners of the latter tie.

The playoff semi finals are scheduled for 21 March, with the playoff finals expected to be held on 26 March, and the three winners of those matches will complete the identity of the 24 competitors at Euro 2024.

Euro 2024 itself will begin on 14 June with Germany v Scotland and will run for exactly a month until the Final at the Olympiastadion in Berlin on 14 July.

GROUP A

14-June	(8pm)	GERMANY v SCOTLAND	Munich
15-June	(2pm)	HUNGARY v SWITZERLAND	Cologne
19-June	(5pm)	GERMANY v HUNGARY	Stuttgart
19-June	(8pm)	SCOTLAND v SWITZERLAND	Cologne
23-June	(8pm)	SWITZERLAND v GERMANY	Frankfurt
23-June	(8pm)	SCOTLAND v HUNGARY	Stuttgart

GROUP B

15-June	(5pm)	SPAIN v CROATIA	Berlin
15-June	(8pm)	ITALY v ALBANIA	Dortmund
19-June	(2pm)	CROATIA v ALBANIA	Hamburg
20-June	(8pm)	SPAIN v ITALY	Gelsenkirchen
24-June	(8pm)	ALBANIA v SPAIN	Dusseldorf
24-June	(8pm)	CROATIA v ITALY	Leipzig

GROUP C

16-June	(5pm)	SLOVENIA v DENMARK	Stuttgart
16-June	(8pm)	SERBIA v ENGLAND	Gelsenkirchen
20-June	(2pm)	SLOVENIA v SERBIA	Munich
20-June	(5pm)	DENMARK v ENGLAND	Frankfurt
25-June	(8pm)	ENGLAND v SLOVENIA	Cologne
25-June	(8pm)	DENMARK v SERBIA	Munich

GROUP D

16-June	(2pm)	PLAYOFF [A] v NETHERLANDS	Hamburg
17-June	(8pm)	AUSTRIA v FRANCE	Dusseldorf
21-June	(5pm)	PLAYOFF [A] v AUSTRIA	Berlin
21-June	(8pm)	NETHERLANDS v FRANCE	Leipzig
25-June	(5pm)	NETHERLANDS v AUSTRIA	Berlin
25-June	(5pm)	FRANCE v PLAYOFF [A]	Dortmund

GROUP E

17-June	(2pm)	ROMANIA v PLAYOFF [B]	Munich
17-June	(5pm)	BELGIUM v SLOVAKIA	Frankfurt
21-June	(2pm)	SLOVAKIA v PLAYOFF [B]	Dusseldorf
22-June	(8pm)	BELGIUM v ROMANIA	Cologne
26-June	(5pm)	SLOVAKIA v ROMANIA	Frankfurt
26-June	(5pm)	PLAYOFF [B] v BELGIUM	Stuttgart

GROUP F

18-June	(5pm)	TURKEY v PLAYOFF [C]	Dortmund
18-June	(8pm)	PORTUGAL v CZECH REPUBLIC	Leipzig
22-June	(2pm)	PLAYOFF [C] v CZECH REPUBLIC	Hamburg
22-June	(5pm)	TURKEY v PORTUGAL	Dortmund
26-June	(8pm)	PLAYOFF [C] v PORTUGAL	Gelsenkirchen
26-June	(8pm)	CZECH REPUBLIC v TURKEY	Hamburg

LAST 16

29-June	(5pm)	[38]  RUNNER-UP A v RUNNER-UP B	Berlin
29-June	(8pm)	[37]  WINNER A v RUNNER-UP C	Dortmund
30-June	(5pm)	[40]  WINNER C v THIRD PLACE D/E/F	Gelsenkirchen
30-June	(8pm)	[39]  WINNER B v THIRD PLACE A/D/E/F	Cologne
01-July	(5pm)	[42]  RUNNER-UP D v RUNNER-UP E	Dusseldorf
01-July	(8pm)	[41]  WINNER F v THIRD PLACE A/B/C	Frankfurt
02-July	(5pm)	[43]  WINNER E v THIRD PLACE A/B/C/D	Munich
02-July	(8pm)	[44]  WINNER D v RUNNER-UP F	Leipzig

QUARTER FINALS

05-July	(5pm)	(45)  WINNER [39] v WINNER [37]	Stuttgart
05-July	(8pm)	(46)  WINNER [41] v WINNER [42]	Hamburg
06-July	(5pm)	(48)  WINNER [40] v WINNER [38]	Dusseldorf
06-July	(8pm)	(47)  WINNER [43] v WINNER [44]	Berlin

SEMI FINALS

09-July	(8pm)	WINNER (45) v WINNER (46)	Munich
10-July	(8pm)	WINNER (47) v WINNER (48)	Dortmund

🟥 EURO 2024 QUALIFYING GROUPS 🟥

Fifty-three teams were drawn into seven groups of five teams (A-G), and three groups of six teams (H-J). The top two teams in each group qualified directly for the finals.

	GROUP A	Pts		GROUP B	Pts		GROUP C	Pts
(Q)	SPAIN	21	(Q)	FRANCE	22	(Q)	ENGLAND	20
(Q)	SCOTLAND	17	(Q)	NETHERLANDS	18	(Q)	ITALY	14
3	Norway	11	[C]	GREECE	13	[B]	UKRAINE	14
[C]	GEORGIA	8	4	Ireland	6	4	North Macedonia	8
5	Cyprus	0	5	Gibraltar	0	5	Malta	0
	GROUP D	Pts		GROUP E	Pts		GROUP F	Pts
(Q)	TURKEY	17	(Q)	ALBANIA	15	(Q)	BELGIUM	20
(Q)	CROATIA	16	(Q)	CZECH REP	15	(Q)	AUSTRIA	19
[A]	WALES	12	[A]	POLAND	11	3	Sweden	10
4	Armenia	8	4	Moldova	10	4	Azerbaijan	7
5	Latvia	3	5	Faroe Islands	2	[A]	ESTONIA	1
	GROUP G	Pts		GROUP H	Pts		GROUP I	Pts
(Q)	HUNGARY	18	(Q)	DENMARK	22	(Q)	ROMANIA	22
(Q)	SERBIA	14	(Q)	SLOVENIA	22	(Q)	SWITZERLAND	17
3	Montenegro	11	[A]	FINLAND	18	[B]	ISRAEL	15
4	Lithuania	6	[C]	KAZAKHSTAN	18	4	Belarus	12
5	Bulgaria	4	5	Northern Ireland	9	5	Kosovo	11
			6	San Marino	0	6	Andorra	2
	GROUP J	Pts
(Q)	PORTUGAL	30
(Q)	SLOVAKIA	22
[C]	LUXEMBOURG	17
[B]	ICELAND	10
[B]	BOSNIA-HERZ	9
6	Liechtenstein	0

🟥 NATIONS LEAGUE 2022-23 RANKINGS 🟥

	LEAGUE A		LEAGUE B		LEAGUE C		LEAGUE D
(Q)	SPAIN	[B]	ISRAEL	[C]	GEORGIA	[A]	ESTONIA
(Q)	CROATIA	[B]	BOSNIA-HERZ	[C]	GREECE	50	Latvia
(Q)	ITALY	(Q)	SERBIA	(Q)	TURKEY	51	Moldova
(Q)	NETHERLANDS	(Q)	SCOTLAND	[C]	KAZAKHSTAN	52	Malta
(Q)	DENMARK	[A]	FINLAND	[C]	LUXEMBOURG	53 54	Andorra San Marino
(Q)	PORTUGAL	[B]	UKRAINE	38	Azerbaijan	55	Liechtenstein
(Q)	BELGIUM	[B]	ICELAND	39	Kosovo
(Q)	HUNGARY	24	Norway	40	Bulgaria
(Q)	SWITZERLAND	(Q)	SLOVENIA	41	Faroe Islands
(Q)	GERMANY	26	Ireland	42	North Macedonia
[A]	POLAND	(Q)	ALBANIA	(Q)	SLOVAKIA
(Q)	FRANCE	28	Montenegro	44	Northern Ireland
(Q)	AUSTRIA	(Q)	ROMANIA	45	Cyprus
(Q)	CZECH REPUBLIC	30	Sweden	46	Belarus
(Q)	ENGLAND	31	Armenia	47	Lithuania
[A]	WALES	32	Russia [banned]	48	Gibraltar

KEY

(Q)   Qualified directly for the Euro 2024 finals

[A]   Path A playoff competition

[B]   Path B playoff competition

[C]   Path C playoff competition

All other teams have been eliminated

SUMMARY
• The top four teams in League A, League B and League C shown above all won their Nations League group
• The Nations League overall rankings determined which of the 12 teams - who did not qualify directly - entered the three playoff path routes to qualify for Euro 2024
• However, almost all teams from League A qualified directly - except for Poland and Wales - leaving a shortage of teams to compete in Path [A] in the playoffs
• This shortage of teams for Path [A] provided a place for a team in League B which did not win their Nations League group - this was determined to be Finland in a random draw. The shortage also provided a place for the best-ranked team in League D, which was Estonia.
• Path [B] was taken up by the top four ranked teams in League B who had not already qualified directly and had not been selected to make up the shortage of teams competing in Path [A]
• Path [C] was taken up by the top four ranked teams in League C who had not qualified directly

🟥 PLAYOFF PATH DRAW 🟥

Each of the playoff path winners will qualify for the Euro 2024 finals

PATH [A]

21 March	POLAND	[SF1]	ESTONIA	Warsaw
21 March	WALES	[SF2]	FINLAND	Cardiff
26 March	WALES/FINLAND	[F]	POLAND/ESTONIA	Cardiff/Helsinki

PATH [B]

21 March	ISRAEL	[SF1]	ICELAND	TBC
21 March	BOSNIA-HERZ	[SF2]	UKRAINE	Zenica
26 March	BOSNIA-HERZ/UKRAINE	[F]	ISRAEL/ICELAND	Zenica/TBC

PATH [C]

21 March	GEORGIA	[SF1]	LUXEMBOURG	Tblisi
21 March	GREECE	[SF2]	KAZAKHSTAN	Athens
26 March	GEORGIA/LUXEMBOURG	[F]	GREECE/KAZAKHSTAN	Tblisi/Luxembourg City

Team GB lose place at ice hockey top table

GREAT BRITAIN collapsed from 3-1 up two days in a row earlier this week to suffer a painful relegation from the top flight of the ice hockey World Championships.

Team GB were beaten 5-3 by Austria on Monday, only just over 24 hours after a 4-3 defeat to Latvia at the Nokia Arena in Tampere, Finland.

Those defeats left Pete Russell's men on just one point from seven games, well short of the safety mark in Group B - but it could have been all so different if the build-up to the tournament had not been quite as disrupted by injury as it was.

Shorn of the brightest British hockey star of his generation, Liam Kirk, the team suffered further blows to the offence with the loss of Mike Hammond and Ollie Betteridge.

At least Team GB could call upon the vast experience provided by captain Jonathan Phillips who picked up a new national record by winning his 111th cap in the match against Austria.

But the lack of firepower was clearly in evidence in four warm-up matches, two each against Denmark and Italy, which finished with four defeats and an aggregate score of 1-16.

Nevertheless, in the finals themselves, Team GB acquitted themselves generally well -  and were shut out only by Sweden (0-6), hosts Finland (0-6), and the United States (0-3), the latter of which was a competitive battle.

In total, Team GB found the back of the net on 10 occasions in the four other matches, scoring one more goal than in the 2019 World Championship when Britain beat France in overtime to survive in their first season back in the top flight for 25 years.

This time, though, it was not to be - despite a stunning recovery from 3-0 down in the third period against Norway in their second game.

A trio of quickfire goals from Robert Dowd, Brett Perlini and Mark Richardson forced an unlikely period of overtime - but, while there was no further scoring in the additional five minutes, it was the Norwegians who prevailed on penalty shots for the extra point.

At the time, it still looked like a good point - but results elsewhere in Group B conspired against Team GB with Austria forcing overtime against the United States then causing a shock by beating the Czech Republic on penalty shots.

Meanwhile, Latvia beat Norway in a regulation time victory for three points - and the points from the match between the Latvians and the Austrians were split 2-1 in favour of the former after another match which went all the way.

As largely expected then, the Team GB campaign would be decided by their last two matches with Latvia (5) and Austria (4), well clear of Russell's side on a single point.

Britain looked set to close the gap on the teams above them when Lewis Hook restored a two-goal lead at 3-1 within seconds of Oskars Batna pulling one back for Latvia.

Those goals followed an opening period which was dominated by Britain and rewarded on the scoreboard with a goal from Perlini and a maiden senior international strike for Cade Neilson.

By the end of the second period, Latvia were back in it at 3-2 after scoring on the powerplay - and Britain critically failed to stay out of the penalty box in the third as the Latvians completed the turnaround with two further powerplay goals.

At least, at that point, Austria remained within reach - and any win in regulation time was enough for Team GB to survive again at the elite level on head-to-head

In a carbon copy of the Latvia game, things looked good again early on as Matt Myers and Dowd deservedly put Britain 2-0 up, and Neilson produced a quick response to an Austrian goal for a 3-1 scoreline.

The main difference this time was that, by the time Neilson scored, the match was in the third period and had less than 14 minutes left.

Nevertheless, that was still more than enough time for an Austria team who did not panic in the knowledge that a tie at the end of 60 minutes would be enough for them.

The Austrians quickly got back on level terms through Dominique Heinrich and Benjamin Nissner as Britain were overwhelmed - then went ahead for the first time through Thomas Raffl to leave Britain needing two.

Unsurprisingly, Team GB pulled the goalie - but that merely allowed Peter Schneider to slide the puck into an empty net from the very next attack.

That fifth Austrian goal arrived with an undoubtable thud of finality - the new boys had secured safety and Great Britain were going down.

Of course, right now, there is much about the future which remains uncertain.

The expulsion of Belarus and Russia from the Championships this year following the brutal Russian invasion of Ukraine has left questions over the future structure of the promotion and relegation places between the top flight and the second-tier Division 1A.

Russia - if ever welcomed back into the international fold - almost certainly would be placed straight back into the Top Division with Belarus likely to go to Division 1A following their bottom-placed finish in 2021.

This year, though, there were still two promotion spots up for grabs with Hungary and Slovenia replacing Britain and Italy who were relegated after they also took just one point in Group A.

In some heartening news this week, the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) announced Great Britain as the host of Division 1A in 2023 with the matches set to be played on home ice at the Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham. 

Therefore, Team GB already stand an excellent good chance of ensuring that this memorable spell among the elite merely ended on a semi-colon - and not a full-stop.

GROUP A	W	W-OT	L-OT	L	F	A	Pts
(Q) SWITZERLAND	6	1	0	0	34	15	20
(Q) GERMANY	5	0	1	1	26	20	16
(Q) CANADA	5	0	0	2	34	18	15
(Q) SLOVAKIA	4	0	0	3	23	19	12
DENMARK	4	0	0	3	18	18	12
FRANCE	1	1	0	5	11	24	5
KAZAKHSTAN	1	0	0	6	19	31	3
(R) ITALY	0	0	1	6	12	32	1

• All matches at the Helsinki Ice Hall in Helsinki, Finland

13-May	14:20	FRANCE	2-4	SLOVAKIA
13-May	18:20	GERMANY	3-5	CANADA
14-May	10:20	DENMARK	9-1	KAZAKHSTAN
14-May	14:20	SWITZERLAND	5-2	ITALY
14-May	18:20	SLOVAKIA	1-2	GERMANY
15-May	10:20	ITALY	1-6	CANADA
15-May	14:20	FRANCE	2-1	KAZAKHSTAN
15-May	18:20	DENMARK	0-6	SWITZERLAND
16-May	14:20	SLOVAKIA	1-5	CANADA
16-May	18:20	FRANCE	2-3	GERMANY
17-May	14:20	ITALY	1-2	DENMARK
17-May	18:20	SWITZERLAND	3-2	KAZAKHSTAN
18-May	14:20	FRANCE	2-1	ITALY	OT
18-May	18:20	SWITZERLAND	5-3	SLOVAKIA
19-May	16:00	GERMANY	1-0	DENMARK
19-May	19:30	CANADA	6-3	KAZAKHSTAN
20-May	14:20	GERMANY	9-4	ITALY
20-May	18:20	KAZAKHSTAN	3-4	SLOVAKIA
21-May	10:20	DENMARK	3-0	FRANCE
21-May	14:20	CANADA	3-6	SWITZERLAND
21-May	18:20	ITALY	1-3	SLOVAKIA
22-May	14:20	KAZAKHSTAN	4-5	GERMANY
22-May	18:20	SWITZERLAND	5-2	FRANCE
23-May	14:20	KAZAKHSTAN	5-2	ITALY
23-May	18:20	CANADA	2-3	DENMARK
24-May	10:20	GERMANY	3-4	SWITZERLAND	GWS
24-May	14:20	SLOVAKIA	7-1	DENMARK
24-May	18:20	CANADA	7-1	FRANCE

GROUP B	W	W-OT	L-OT	L	F	A	Pts
(Q) FINLAND	6	0	1	0	25	5	19
(Q) SWEDEN	5	1	1	0	27	10	18
(Q) CZECH REPUBLIC	4	0	1	2	19	13	13
(Q) UNITED STATES	3	2	0	2	18	12	13
LATVIA	2	1	0	4	14	20	8
AUSTRIA	1	1	2	3	16	22	7
NORWAY	1	1	0	5	15	29	5
(R) GREAT BRITAIN	0	0	1	6	10	33	1

• All matches at the Nokia Arena in Tampere, Finland

13-May	14:20	UNITED STATES	4-1	LATVIA
13-May	18:20	FINLAND	5-0	NORWAY
14-May	10:20	SWEDEN	3-1	AUSTRIA
14-May	14:20	CZECH REPUBLIC	5-1	GREAT BRITAIN
14-May	18:20	LATVIA	1-2	FINLAND
15-May	10:20	NORWAY	4-3	GREAT BRITAIN	GWS
15-May	14:20	AUSTRIA	2-3	UNITED STATES	OT
15-May	18:20	CZECH REPUBLIC	3-5	SWEDEN
16-May	14:20	LATVIA	3-2	NORWAY
16-May	18:20	FINLAND	4-1	UNITED STATES
17-May	14:20	CZECH REPUBLIC	1-2	AUSTRIA	GWS
17-May	18:20	SWEDEN	6-0	GREAT BRITAIN
18-May	14:20	NORWAY	5-3	AUSTRIA
18-May	18:20	FINLAND	2-3	SWEDEN	GWS
19-May	14:20	GREAT BRITAIN	0-3	UNITED STATES
19-May	18:20	CZECH REPUBLIC	5-1	LATVIA
20-May	14:20	GREAT BRITAIN	0-6	FINLAND
20-May	18:20	LATVIA	4-3	AUSTRIA	GWS
21-May	10:20	UNITED STATES	3-2	SWEDEN
21-May	14:20	AUSTRIA	0-3	FINLAND
21-May	18:20	NORWAY	1-4	CZECH REPUBLIC
22-May	14:20	GREAT BRITAIN	3-4	AUSTRIA
22-May	18:20	SWEDEN	7-1	NORWAY
23-May	14:20	UNITED STATES	0-1	CZECH REPUBLIC
23-May	18:20	AUSTRIA	5-3	GREAT BRITAIN
24-May	10:20	SWEDEN	1-0	LATVIA
24-May	14:20	UNITED STATES	4-2	NORWAY
24-May	18:20	FINLAND	3-0	CZECH REPUBLIC

QUARTER FINALS

26-May	14:20	GERMANY	1-4	CZECH REPUBLIC	Helsinki
26-May	14:20	SWEDEN	3-4	CANADA	Tampere  OT
26-May	18:20	SWITZERLAND	0-3	UNITED STATES	Helsinki
26-May	18:20	FINLAND	4-2	SLOVAKIA	Tampere

SEMI FINALS

28-May	10:20	FINLAND	4-3	UNITED STATES	Tampere
28-May	14:20	CANADA	6-1	CZECH REPUBLIC	Tampere

BRONZE FINAL

29-May

13:20

UNITED STATES

4-8

CZECH REPUBLIC

Tampere

GOLD FINAL

29-May

18:20

FINLAND

4-3

CANADA

Tampere OT

OVERALL RANKINGS

1 • FINLAND

2 • CANADA

3 • CZECH REPUBLIC

4 • UNITED STATES

5 • SWITZERLAND

6 • SWEDEN

7 • GERMANY

8 • SLOVAKIA

9 • DENMARK

10 • LATVIA

11 • AUSTRIA

12 • FRANCE

13 • NORWAY

14 • KAZAKHSTAN

15 • (R) ITALY

16 • (R) GREAT BRITAIN

GREAT BRITAIN TOURNAMENT POINTS
2+3 • Cade Neilson

2+2 • Brett Perlini

2+0 • Robert Dowd

1+1 • Ben Lake

1+1 • Lewis Hook
1+1 • Matthew Myers
1+0 • Mark Richardson

0+2 • Scott Conway

0+2 • Josh Batch
0+1 • Evan Mosey
0+1 • Joshua Tetlow
0+1 • Sam Jones
0+1 • Ben O'Connor