Olympic qualification: Austria battle Hungary for a positive finish

Following the two bitter 1:2 defeats to Slovakia and Kazakhstan, Austria's men's national ice hockey team no longer has any chance of qualifying for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games. Like Austria, Hungary are on 0 points. Their head-to-head encounter now offers the chance of a positive finish to this qualification week. The game will be broadcast live on ORF SPORT + on Sunday at 14:00.

31 August 20241 min read

There was great disappointment in the Austrian camp on Friday evening after the defeat to Kazakhstan. Despite being the superior team, Austria were unable to take anything tangible from the game. This also ended their chance of winning the group or finishing second, which might also have been enough should Russia have been excluded. Hungary, Austria's final opponents on Sunday, also had to concede defeat to both Kazakhstan and Slovakia.

Sunday's game at 14:00 is therefore for third place. The team are determined to end the week with a positive result, Head Coach Roger Bader: "Of course, it is bitter that there is nothing left to play for going into the final game. Nevertheless, our aim is to win the final game and head home with a positive feeling."

"We are still representing our country. We want to win this game, represent Austria well and return to our clubs with a good feeling," also stresses Dominic Zwerger.

Austria and Hungary have faced each other 54 times in history so far. Most recently in 2023: at the World Championship in Tampere, Austria secured their place in the Top Division with a 4:3 penalty shoot-out victory, before recording a 3:0 win at the Austria Cup in Klagenfurt in December.

Record after 54 games: 38 wins, 2 draws, 14 defeats

2024 OLYMPIC MEN'S ICE HOCKEY FINAL QUALIFICATION, GROUP D

Austria vs. Hungary
Sun., 01 September 2024, 14:00, Bratislava, Ondrej Nepela Arena - >> Live on ORF SPORT +

Already played:

Slovakia vs. Austria 2:1 (0:0,2:1,0:0)
Thu., 29 August 2024, 18:00, Bratislava, Ondrej Nepela Arena, 8.670
Slovakia scorers: Martin Gernát (33), Miloš Kelemen (35)
Austria scorer: Marco Kasper (40./PP2)

Kazakhstan vs. Austria 2:1 (1:0,0:0,1:1)

Fri., 30 August 2024, 14:00, Bratislava, Ondrej Nepela Arena, 397
Kazakhstan goalscorers: Dmitri Breus (2), Tamirlan Gaitamirov (53)
Austria goalscorer: Raphael Herburger (43)

All information on the official IIHF website

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