Ireland's dramatic win over Malaysia last night has set up a near instant chance for revenge over Poland following the 3-2 defeat on Thursday as the home nation compete in their first ever world ranking final to be played on home soil.
Billed pre-match as somewhat of a non-event with both countries already semi-final bound, Thursday's battle was the most intense battle of the group stages with neither side giving an inch.
Skipper Ronan Gormley said as much after the game saying "we certainly didn't see as a dead rubber" as the two sides served up a frantic, counter-attack game with scarcely a pause for breath.
For Ireland, one primary objective has been acheived as they are guaranteed to finish above Malaysia, France and Japan - the three sides above them in the world ranking - and so begin to make inroads to closing the gap on those countries. For today, though, silverware remains the target at Belfield.
Match schedule (all at Belfield):
Final: (5pm) Ireland vs Poland
Classification matches: (9.30am) 7th/8th playoff - Chile vs Austria; (12pm) 5th/6th playoff - Japan vs Russia; (2.30pm) 3rd/4th playoff - Malaysia vs France
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