U18 women ready for the World Championship

Austria’s U18 Women’s National Team begins its World Championship Division IA campaign on Sunday at 12:30. Austria will face Italy in Budapest (HUN) in their opening game. Head Coach Mario Bellina expects a very evenly matched tournament in which anything can happen.

04 January 20251 min read

One thing is certain: Austria is ready! The 3:2 win over France last Thursday provided important insights and confidence. The team camps in Telfs and St. Pölten took the team another step forward. All outstanding questions were clarified in individual meetings. “Every player knows what she has to do,” stresses Bellina.

“The 3:2 win over France was a real boost for the team. They saw that they can also beat their direct World Championship rivals. The entire preparation, during which we played against every World Championship opponent, showed that it really could be a very evenly matched tournament.”

According to Mario Bellina, form on the day and a little bit of luck could decide between victory and defeat: “The games will probably be close and could go either way.”

The Head Coach positively highlights that his team is now creating plenty of chances. The focus now is on improving their conversion rate for the tournament: “Hopefully, the dam will burst when the tournament starts.”