■ Ice Hockey 2026 Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics Final Qualifiers Japan vs Great Britain (1st, Denmark)

The third match of the final Olympic qualifying round, aiming to participate for the first time in 28 years since the Nagano Olympics. Japan, ranked 24th in the world, lost 2-3 to Great Britain, ranked 17th, and finished last in their group, failing to qualify.

The final qualifying round will be divided into three groups of four countries, and the winner of each group will advance to the Olympics. Japan will be in the same group as Denmark (11th), Norway (12th), and Great Britain (17th).

Japan lost three points in the first period, but in the second period, they closed the gap to one point with goals from Kosuke Otsu (30) and Marika Furuhashi (30). Japan continued to attack bravely in the third period, but failed to score. With less than two minutes left, they launched a six-man attack, but were unable to break through the British defense. Japan’s challenge for a ticket to the Olympic Games for the first time in 28 years ended with three straight losses.

Captain Shogo Nakajima (30)
“Thank you for all the support from Japan. We didn’t get the result we wanted, and it’s really disappointing, but there were many games that we gained from. Next, we’d like to work together to liven up the domestic league and become stronger so that we can take on the world stage, so please continue to support the Japanese national team.”