Russia became World Champion when the World Championship for Y21 was decided in Arkhangelsk December 20-22. Russia was the best team throughout the tournament and beat Sweden 7-1 after half time 4-0 in the final game. Everyone probably thought that before the final it would be a smooth and exciting match. But Russia took hold of the final game fairly quickly and Sweden did not have much to put together. This after Sweden made a good match in the semi-finals when the team defeated Finland by 1-0. Russia made it to the final by easily beating Kazakhstan in its semi-final 13-0.
SEE THE RUSSIAN CELEBRATION ON TV
Goals in the final:
1-0 (8) Oleg Tarnarutsky, 2-0 (13) Artyom Repyach, 3-0 (21) Ilya Nasekin, 4-0 (25) Alexey Torgonsky, 5-0 (47) Oleg Tarnarutsky, 6-0 (84) Ilya Nasekin, 6-1 (88) Pontus Nordström, 7-1 (90) Alexey Torgonsky
BEST PLAYERS:
Most Valuable Player – Ilya Nasekin, Russia, Best Goalkeeper – Artem Kataev, Russia, Best Defender – Rasmus Sjöström, Sweden, Best Midfielder – Dmitry Anikin, Russia, Best Forward – Saku Hämäläinen, Finland, Best Goal scorer – Oleg Tarnarutsky, Russia, 8 goals, Best scorer+assist – Grigory Fedorov, Russia, Gentleman of the tournament – Nurbol Bokeshov, Kazakhstan
Russian World Champions – Photo: Russian Bandy Federation website