After the final thriller

Final! Czech Republic – Switzerland from 20.20 LIVE

The Czech host team defeated Switzerland 2:0 (0:0, 0:0, 2:0) in the World Cup final in Prague ...(Bild: AFP)

The Czech ice hockey team made perfect use of their home advantage to win World Championship gold for the first time since 2010! 

The host team defeated Switzerland 2:0 (0:0, 0:0, 2:0) in the final in Prague on Sunday to win the title for the seventh time in total. Star striker David Pastrnak decided the game, which was dominated by defense for a long time, with his goal in the 50th minute.

Pastrnak had joined the Czechs during the tournament following the Boston Bruins' play-off exit from the NHL and had gone scoreless in his previous three games. But when it counted, the 28-year-old was on hand.

Pastrnak scores with a hard shot 
He beat Swiss goalkeeper Leonardo Genoni with a hard shot and sent the 17,500 spectators in the sold-out O2 Arena into ecstasy. David Kampf scored the final goal 19 seconds before the final buzzer.

It was the Czechs' first World Championship medal on home ice in 32 years, when they won bronze as the CSFR in 1992. They crowned a two-and-a-half-week ice hockey party with a great atmosphere and a new World Championship attendance record of 797,727 spectators in the halls in Prague and Ostrava.

Switzerland suffered their third defeat in their third appearance in the final. In 2013 and 2018, the Swiss were defeated by Sweden in the final.

The result:
Czech Republic - Switzerland 2:0 (0:0, 0:0, 2:0)
Prague, 17,500 spectators (sold out)
Goals: Pastrnak (50th), Kampf (60th/EN)

Final standings: 1. Czech Republic - 2. Switzerland - 3. Sweden - 4. Canada - 5. USA - 6. Germany - 7. Slovakia - 8. Finland - 9. Latvia - 10. Austria - 11. Norway - 12. Kazakhstan - 13. Denmark - 14. France - 15. (relegated) Great Britain - 16. (relegated) Poland