Americans don’t need a World Cup. Then why are they invited?

Hockey players from the third tier of NHL clubs and young people who did not have time to earn their authority in the hockey world – this is how you can describe the composition of the middle peasant team at the World Championships. But in fact, this is not Denmark or Switzerland, but the US national team.

At the 2022 World Cup, it is becoming increasingly clear that the Stars and Stripes are participating in the international tournament just for show. NHL stars with an American passport refuse the national team and choose to rest after being eliminated from the playoffs. Because of this, the coaching staff of the US team brought to Finland not the best, but those who agree to continue the season.

If the Americans themselves consider the World Cup a second-rate tournament and come only to serve a number, then why invite them at all?

Team of the third links

The “Stars and Stripes” started the championship confidently beating the Latvian national team – 4: 1, but it seems that their exploits ended there. Already in the second match, the US team experienced significant problems with the Austrian team, which accidentally got into the tournament (due to the removal of Belarus for political reasons). It is clear that any even the most stable team has recessions and matches in which the puck simply does not go into the goal.

But the next meeting with Finland put everything in its place. The Americans did not show anything against the Suomi team in 60 minutes of the game, losing in all respects to the hostess of the tournament.

The second failed game of the Stars and Stripes makes you think: why invite the North American team to the tournament? After all, they do not take it seriously, sending players from the third links.

The Finns confidently beat the Americans

The Finnish national team has long been associated by hockey fans with extremely simple and pragmatic hockey. However, Finnish hockey players could not afford to play second number and from defense at home stands, at least in the group stage. So the Finns started the meeting against the US team actively.

And at the end of the starting 20-minutes, the Suomi hockey players forced the Americans to leave with their active game. The Finns successfully coped with the draw of the excess, but they realized the majority thanks to the mistake of the goalkeeper of the US team. Mikael Granlund entered the zone at speed and threw a low shot at the goal in the hope that the puck would bounce off the goalkeeper’s pads, and one of the partners would have time to finish off. However, the hockey projectile hit the American goalkeeper’s “house” and ended up in the net – Granlund himself was surprised at such an easy goal.

This puck can be called accidental, but at the same time it was brewing for a long time – the Finns looked much more dangerous than their opponent and constantly carried out sharp attacks. And in the second period, the Finnish team proved that it is capable of scoring not only thanks to the mistakes of the American goalkeeper.

At the start of the second 20-minute period, Stars and Stripes forward Austin Watson hit the head of the Finnish player hard with his elbow. The judges carefully studied this moment on the video replay and gave Suomi as much as five minutes of the majority. The Finns pointedly responded to the rudeness of the American with two abandoned washers as part of this numerical advantage.

And at the end of the second period, a curious incident occurred – the main referee asked the judge of the game time to add a couple of seconds due to the late pressing of the pause button. However, this standard procedure led to a break that lasted about two minutes. Usually in such situations, the stadium announces that the time is taken according to the control stopwatch. But this time, they simply did not want to do so, giving the hockey players an unforeseen rest.

And when the correct time was set on the scoreboard, the Finns immediately abandoned after the resumption of the meeting. At the same time, the Americans’ keeper again failed with a simple shot – Mikko Lehtonen sent the puck into the net from the blue line.

In the third 20-minute period, the Finns frankly played out the match, realizing that the opponent did not have the strength to change the course of the meeting. Suomi hockey players spent the final period in an energy-saving mode, keeping in mind the next meeting at the tournament. The Americans took advantage of the opponent’s lack of motivation and managed to win back one goal.

As a result, Finland confidently beat the US team – 4: 1. The “Stars and Stripes” finally showed their inconsistency in this tournament. And if the Americans themselves do not care about the tournament, then why invite them at all?