Recap day 5
On Sunday morning, we saw a rematch of the tournament’s first game as Finland and Austria faced off for the second time. This time, Finland took revenge, avoiding major mistakes. Finland led by a few tries for most of the game and ultimately won with a score of 53-49. In the final tournament standings, Austria placed 8th and Finland 7th
Israel and Spain had also faced each other earlier in the tournament’s group stage, where Israel came out on top with a 52-49 victory. This rematch was evenly contested throughout the entire game. Whenever one team pulled ahead by a couple of tries, the other quickly closed the gap. The match remained tied until the very last seconds. Spain had the final attack with 7 seconds left on the clock and scored the winning try in the final second, securing 5th place in the tournament and their spot in the B-division.
In the group stage game, Italy defeated the Czech Republic by 17 tries, and in the bronze medal match, the Czech Republic sought revenge. However, Italy quickly gained a few-goal lead at the start of the game. The Czech team played well and strongly, but Italy capitalized on even the smallest mistakes, allowing them to steadily increase their lead. Towards the end, the Czech team mounted a strong comeback, but it wasn’t quite enough, and Italy secured the bronze medal and promotion to the A-division with a 41-46 victory. The Czech Republic finished fourth in the tournament and retained their place in the B-division.
The final between Poland and Sweden began as a tightly contested match, fitting for a final, with Poland leading by 3 tries at halftime. In the third quarter, Poland managed to extend their lead through a couple of key steals, entering the final quarter with a 6-try advantage. Sweden tried to rally in the last quarter, but Poland ultimately took the victory with a convincing 8-goal margin, 52-44.