The two nations have contested the past seven finals at the World Championships, with Finland winning four and Sweden claiming three titles.

Should the trend continue, Finland will have the psychological advantage after a comfortable victory in their Group A match today at the Helsinki Ice Hall.

Ville Lastikka struck twice in the early stages of the contest to give Finland a 2-1 advantage at the end of the first period.

The teams remained closely matched in the second with the hosts establishing a 3-2 lead heading into the final period.

Finland then outscored their rivals 4-1 in the third period, with Eemeli Salin scoring twice either side of Lastikka completing a hat-trick.

The result places Finland top of the Group A standings on four points, with Sweden remaining second on two.

Denmark and Latvia were unable to capitalise on Sweden’s defeat, after playing out a 5-5 draw in the other group match.

Group B continued with Switzerland earning a hard-fought 7-5 win over Norway to join the Czech Republic at the top of the standings.

The Czech team had beaten Germany 11-0 in their opening match yesterday.

The top two nations in Groups A and B will reach the quarter-finals, with the remaining nations dropping into the playoffs.

Slovakia are poised to earn a playoff spot after winning their second Group C match, overcoming Poland 8-4.

Thailand lies second following a 9-3 win over the United States, with their final tie against Poland set to determine who secures the group’s last playoff spot.

Estonia joined Canada at the top of the Group D standings, after winning 13-6 against the Philippines in their opening match.

Estonia and Philippines are participating in the tournament due to the COVID-19 withdrawals of Australia and Japan.

Canada now sits second in the group after beating Singapore yesterday.

The top two teams in Group C and D will participate in the playoffs.

The bottom two nations in each group will compete in the 13th to 16th place playoffs.

Floorball is due to make an appearance at the Birmingham 2022 World Games, with the top five teams from the World Championship qualifying.