Full focus on the rivalry with Germany
After a complete day of rest, Austria turned their full attention to their next opponents on Friday: Germany. Austria have nine points, while their neighbours only collected their first points in game four and are already under pressure. The game will be broadcast live on ORF 1 on Saturday at 8:20 pm.
3 min read
“We want to win, that’s for sure,” emphasizes Head coach Roger Bader the goal for the game against Germany. That would be equivalent to reaching the quarter-finals. The batteries were charged on Thursday and the players and the entire staff had a full day off.
On Friday it was time to switch gears again and focus on the World Championship and the upcoming opponent. In the planning of Head coach Roger Bader we are now entering the third phase of this World Championship: "We always talk in phases. The first double with Great Britain and Hungary was the first, the second with Latvia and Switzerland was the second and now the upcoming double is the third phase. But we are now only talking about the game against Germany and we want to deliver a great game."
Both teams know each other well and have faced each other twice in preparation. Both times our neighbors ended better, although they didn't get off to an optimal start to the World Championship. After defeats against Finland (1:3), Latvia (0:2) and Switzerland (1:6), the team scored for the first time in the 3:4 defeat after a penalty shootout against defending champions USA.
Roger Bader: "Germany has a very good team, even if they haven't been as successful at this World Championship as you might be used to. They have at least four NHL players with them. We certainly need a perfect game to beat them. We're focusing fully on our things, playing our game and implementing our strengths."
2026 IIHF ICE HOCKEY WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
May 15, 2026 - May 31, 2026, Zurich and Fribourg (SUI)
Defending champions: USA
Group A, Zurich: USA, Switzerland, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Austria, Hungary, Great Britain
Group B, Fribourg: Canada, Sweden, Czech Republic, Denmark, Slovakia, Norway, Slovenia, Italy
Schedule
Austria vs. Germany
Sat., May 23, 2026, 8:20 p.m., Swiss Life Arena
Live on ORF 1
Finland vs. Austria
Sun., May 24, 2026, 8:20 p.m., Swiss Life Arena
Live on ORF SPORT+
USA vs. Austria
Tuesday, May 26, 2026, 4:20 p.m., Swiss Life Arena
Live on ORF 1
Already played
Great Britain vs. Austria 2:5 (2:3, 0:2, 0:0)
Sat., May 16, 2026, 12:20 p.m., Swiss Life Arena, 7,974 spectators
Goalscorers Great Britain: David Clements (16th), Liam Kirk (17th)
Goalscorers Austria: Benjamin Nissner (3rd), Peter Schneider (7th, 27th), Paul Huber (10th), Leon Wallner (34th)
Game sheet
Austria vs. Hungary 4:2 (1:1, 0:0, 3:1)
Sun., May 17, 2026, 4:20 p.m., Swiss Life Arena
Goalscorers Austria: Vinzenz Rohrer (6th/PP), Dominic Zwerger (47th/PP), Thimo Nickl (48th, 60th)
Goalscorers Hungary: Istvan Sofron (12./PP), Peter Vincze (54./PP)
Game sheet
Latvia vs. Austria 1:3 (0:0, 0:1, 1:2)
Tuesday, May 19, 2026, 4:20 p.m., Swiss Life Arena
Goalscorer Latvia: Rudolfs Balcers (41.)
Goalscorers Austria: Tim Harnisch (28th), Benjamin Nissner (45th/PP), Vinzenz Rohrer (60th/EN)
Game sheet
Austria vs. Switzerland 0:9 (0:4, 0:3, 0:2)
Wed., May 20, 2026, 4:20 p.m., Swiss Life Arena
Goalscorers Switzerland: Theo Rochette (6th, 33rd), Timo Meier (10th), Nico Hischier (12th, 30th/PP), Damien Riat (14th/PP, 51st/PP), Calvin Thurkauf (31st), Christoph Bertschy (57th)
Game sheet
Ticketing
Information about World Championship ticket sales 2026.iihfworlds.com
Link to World Championship tickets for Zurich and Fribourg
Link to individual games with Austria
Link to World Championship packages with the Austria games
