The Philippines won the 2024 Men’s Floorball World Championship Asia-Oceania Qualifiers. AOFC

The Philippines men’s national floorball team beat rivals Thailand 6-5 to capture gold on the final day of the 2024 Men’s Floorball World Championship Asia-Oceania Qualifiers.

On Saturday at Pasig City's PhilSports Arena in the Philippines, Japan made an incredible comeback to beat South Korea 5-4 - thanks to an overtime goal by Shin Nakamura - to secure fifth place in the competition.

Australia and Singapore battled it out for third place in a crucial match to decide who will take the final ticket for Malmö in December and the 15th edition of the Men’s World Floorball Championships. Australia, who rank higher in the World Rankings, also won the previous two clashes: including a convincing 8-3 victory in the group. However, after Jonathan Salt had given Australia the lead in the opening period, Singapore came out flying in the second period with Mikhail Raiyan Abd Aziz and Jun Wei Foo putting them into a 2-1 lead.

A missed penalty shot by Singapore led to a surge in momentum for the Aussies who levelled thanks to a short-handed goal from Liam Perry. Then came two goals in quick succession from Ben Kosterich and Jordan Noel to make it a 4-2 game. Fattah Barin pulled one back midway through the third, but Australia held on to secure the third-place finish which booked their spot in Malmö.


The home crowd cheered for their team as they met Thailand in the final.  It was a physical battle with both teams receiving two penalties each in the first period, keeping the referees on their toes. Thailand seemed to be the ones who had the edge but, despite going 4-3 up through Lukas Hubinette Phraiwan early in the third period, they were hit by a sudden surge of Filipino pressure and momentum.

Kim Varga Franz levelled the scores almost immediately before Melvin Alm Mendoza put the Philippines in front. Hubinette Phraiwan soon equalised, but Lucas Werelius scored his second of the game to put the hosts back in front with less than seven minutes remaining. They then needed strong defence - with crucial blocks and play in net by Victor Lindberg - to help them secure the gold medal in the AOFC WFC Qualifiers.



The 2024 IFF Men’s World Floorball Championships will be held in Malmö, Sweden from 7-15 December.