The head coach of the German national ice hockey team said semifinals in the 2010 World Championship is already a big achievement, but the players are set for the victory against defending champions Russia.
"We have already performed a small miracle by reaching the semifinals," Uwe Krupp said in an interview with RIA Novosti ahead of his team's semifinal clash with Russia on Saturday in Germany's Cologne.
"Tomorrow is a big game for us against the Russian team and we will do everything possible we can to win," he said, adding that his team already played the Russians close, losing 3-2 in the group stage.
That was the low point of Russia's tournament so far, and served as something of a wakeup call as the reigning champions finished the group stage with a 6-1 win over Denmark and a 5-0 drubbing of Finland.
While Germany's tournament is already a big success, having reached the semifinals of the ice hockey world championship for the first time, Russia won the gold in 2008 and 2009, and expects nothing less this time around, especially after beating Canada on Thursday to win its 25th-straight world championship match.
The 5-2 quarterfinal win over longtime rivals Canada avenged the humiliating 7-3 loss at the same stage of Olympic ice hockey tournament in Vancouver in February.
COLOGNE, May 21 (RIA Novosti)
