Finland put five past Austria to set up first-place showdown with Switzerland

[p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/finland/rRWMzYQu/"]Finland[/a] put four goals without reply past [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/great-britain/C2UJnT9A/"]Great Britain[/a] last time out having already secured safe passage to the Quarter-finals, but [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/austria/xWM7kVPi/"]Austria[/a] - in third place and fighting for their own place in the last eight - were expected to provide stiffer opposition in Zurich.[/p][p]That looked to be the case as Austria survived an early powerplay following holding from [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/hackl-dominic/Ueaay2SD/"]Dominic Hackl[/a], in a tense first period that had just 10 shots on goal in total, but Finland finally found a way through in the 19th minute.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/nissner-benjamin/nJxX4uBU/"]Benjamin Nissner[/a] had been called for tripping, and this time the Leijonat didn't pass up the powerplay - [b]a neat turn in front of the net from [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/barkov-aleksander/KCA1r9X3/"]Aleksander Barkov[/a] allowed him to find [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/granlund-mikael/lUeWxpf3/"]Mikael Granlund[/a] on the right, and he swept the puck home[/b] to complete a flowing move.[/p][embed guid="fdd7a390-ba7e-4509-a6c8-721598aa1445" url="https://x.com/ViaplayUrheilu/status/2058623044759802279" social-type="twitter" /][p]That goal completely changed the game, as the Finns pulled clear of their opponents in the second period, adding a second goal three minutes in when [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/merela-waltteri/xt3CAN68/"]Waltteri Merala[/a] held the puck behind the net before knocking it back to[b] the arriving [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/maenalanen-saku/WKihHw6h/"]Saku Maenalanen[/a], who took it in his stride and buried it.[/b][/p][p]A hooking call against Merala did little to halt the Finnish flow - it was 3-0 in the 12th minute of the period when [b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/puljujarvi-jesse/MwEaYVEO/"]Jesse Puljujarvi[/a] bundled in a rebound[/b] after [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/lundell-anton/zTGkWBJP/"]Anton Lundell[/a]'s strike was blocked, and less than a minute later it was [b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/manninen-sakari/nirlBvj2/"]Sakari Manninen[/a]'s turn to be the rebound scorer [/b]after [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/raty-aatu/hQ2YUhqG/"]Aatu Raty[/a] had a shot saved, as the Finns reached the 40-minute mark 4-0 up.[/p][embed guid="ba954df1-d59c-4469-bced-536dca8aaca7" url="https://x.com/ViaplayUrheilu/status/2058634498808390106" social-type="twitter" /][p]Austria were on a three-game losing run having begun the championship with three wins, and they finally showed a glimpse of their better selves in the fourth minute of period three, as [b]Nissner found the net[/b] shortly after goaltender [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/annunen-justus/M339RCEg/"]Justus Annunen[/a] lost possession.[/p][p]But any hopes of an unlikely comeback were stamped out four minutes later, when [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/saarijarvi-vili/Stn8auIL/"]Vili Saarijarvi[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/hameenaho-leni/MJ21EIIA/"]Leni Hameenaho[/a] combined for [b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/puistola-patrik/nqWpkFgA/"]Patrik Puistola[/a] to add a fifth[/b] for Antti Pennanen's side. [b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/wallner-leon/d4p0BkZI/"]Leon Wallner[/a] added a late consolation[/b] for Austria, but [b]Finland had done more than enough to stay perfect, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/hockey/austria-xWM7kVPi/finland-rRWMzYQu/?mid=U7YXDoS8"]winning 5-2.[/a][/b][/p][p]Austria face the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/usa/GYgp4SO3/"]United States[/a] in their last group match knowing that a loss will leave them needing big favours from elsewhere to hang onto a top four place.[/p][p][b]Finland will meet [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/switzerland/buO3jBAo/"]Switzerland[/a] in the final match in Group A on Tuesday 26th[/b] - both sides have a maximum 18 points from six games, but the Swiss currently lead the group with an incredible +30 goal difference compared to Finland's +22.[/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/hockey/world/world-championship-2026/"]Follow the 2026 World Ice Hockey Championship on Flashscore.[/a][/b][/p]