U18 national team wins against hosts Denmark in a penalty shootout to finish

Austria gave the Danes a close and exciting fight from the outset. After the first period, Denmark, a World Championship opponent for the Red-White-Reds in April, led 1:0. Immediately after the restart – exactly 27 seconds in, Johannes Neumann scored the 1:1 equaliser (21st minute) for the ÖEHV selection.

Seven minutes later, the hosts were back in front, but Austria responded 30 seconds later: once again, it was Johannes Neumann who scored to make it 2:2 (28th minute). Two and a half minutes after the halfway mark, the Austrians took the lead for the first time: Gregor Biber made it 3:2 (32nd minute). Just under two minutes later, the Danes equalised at 3:3 during an extremely intense spell. No further goals were scored, and the match first went to overtime and then to a penalty shootout.

There, Johannes Neumann finally became Austria's match-winner, converting the decisive penalty for the 3:2 victory. This saw the team led by Head Coach Philipp Pinter finish the Four Nations Tournament in Gentofte in third place, ahead of Denmark.

Head Coach Philipp Pinter: "It was important for us to assess the squad and see what we really have. We already had an idea of what the team could look like at the World Championship. A few players were unavailable through illness or injury, while others were given the chance to put themselves forward, and some positively surprised us. We will be spoiled for choice. Tough decisions await us when it comes to selecting the final World Championship camp squad and the World Championship team itself. The tournament in Denmark was ideal for seeing where we stand. In the first two games, we immediately faced two A-pool nations in Norway and Latvia. We were able to keep up well at the start and showed our best side. However, as the games went on, it was also clear that the lads faded physically a little. You could also see that their focus dropped off somewhat. The lads also saw how ruthlessly individual mistakes are punished at the highest international level. The team's fight, determination and passion were very, very good. In the third game against Denmark, it was important for us to see how the lads would perform while tired. That is also a classic scenario that can happen at a World Championship. You lose the first two games and then the tournament really begins. The teams are tired, and you have to find a way to produce your best performance. We were very satisfied with what we saw and are leaving Denmark with a positive ending."  

U18 Men's Four Nations Tournament

08–10 February 2024, Gentofte (DEN)

Denmark vs. Austria 3:4 n.P. (1:0,2:3,0:0,0:0,0:1)
Sat, 10 February 2024, 15:00
Austria goalscorers: Johannes Neumann (21st, 28th minute, decisive penalty), Gregor Biber (32nd minute)

Already played:

Austria vs. Latvia 2:5 (1:1,0:1,1:3)
Fri, 09 February 2024, 16:00
Austria goalscorers: Felix Haiböck (4th minute), Constantin Humer (57th minute)

Norway vs. Austria 4:1 (1:1,1:0,2:0)
Thu, 08 February 2024, 19:30
Austria goalscorer: Manuel Wadel (11th minute)