5:2 at the start of the World Cup in Prague – Nati overtakes Norway in the middle third and takes a mandatory victory – Sport

• Switzerland showed no weaknesses in the World Cup opening game of Group A in Prague against Norway and won 5-2.
• The national team made the difference with three goals in the middle third.
• In the second group game, Switzerland will compete against neighboring Austria on Sunday evening (8:20 p.m. live on SRF zwei).

Switzerland experienced two shocking moments in its first appearance at the World Cup in the Czech Republic. The focus of the first: Jonas Siegenthaler. The NHL defender, who flew in from New Jersey, received a hard sideways check from Andreas Martinsen in the 14th minute. Siegenthaler had not had the Norwegian giant on his radar at all and remained on the ice after the check. Fortunately, the 27-year-old was able to continue after a short break.

From a Swiss perspective, the second shocking moment came just a few seconds later when Markus Vikingstad scored against the run of play in the slot to make it 1-1. Previously, Sven Andrighetto had given Nati the lead in the 12th minute with a powerful wrist shot into the wide, high corner.

Clear conditions from the 2nd third

Shortly before the end of the starting third, Switzerland got away with Dusel without conceding another goal after the Norwegian top line around NHL star Mats Zuccarello had thrown the Swiss defense into disarray. With the exception of the three power plays in the final section, it would be the last time that the national team would be put under pressure in defense. Norway used the last power play to make it 2:5, which fell with 64 seconds left.

Coach Patrick Fischer’s team controlled the game at will, especially in the middle section. The national team rewarded themselves for a Sturm und Drang phase with three goals between the 25th and 34th minutes:

• 25th minute: At the blue line, Siegenthaler plays across to Romain Loeffel, who finds the gap and hits the inside post to take the lead again.
• 29th minute: The omnipresent captain Roman Josi curves behind the opponent’s goal at speed and serves Sven Senteler the puck in the slot. The Zug striker doesn’t hit the target as expected, but he still catches Norway’s goalie Jonas Arntzen to make it 3-1 between the schooners.
• 34th minute: Gaëtan Haas intercepts a Norwegian pass and launches Tristan Scherwey. Goalie Arntzen was able to fend off the first shot, but the SCB player then sank the rebound out of the air.

On Sunday against Austria

In the final third, Switzerland primarily tried to secure the victory in a controlled manner. The national team didn’t allow much at the back and at the front they also scored their first power play goal of the tournament. After Nino Niederreiter saw his first attempt parried by Arntzen, the NHL veteran made it 5-1 after a hustle and bustle in the slot.

This means that Switzerland can draw numerous positive conclusions from the opening game. The shot ratio of 40:15 underlines the dominance of the Fischer team. But it is also clear that Switzerland will face much tougher challenges as the tournament progresses. The national team enjoys the first day of rest on Saturday before playing against Austria in the evening game on Sunday.