A four-goal flourish in the second period saw Switzerland finish its group stage with an emphatic 6-3 victory over Great Britain.

The Czech Republic recorded its third straight victory with a comfortable 6-1 success over Great Britain in Saturday’s opening Group A game in Riga.

A Swedish victory over Great Britain would not, normally, be a notable result. But Friday's game in Riga was not played in normal circumstances and the 4-1 verdict was freighted with far more significance than a routine win over an outsider.

Two goals from Liam Kirk led Britain to its first victory in this year’s World Championship – and the country’s first in regulation time at this level since 1962. Kirk’s double helped to down Belarus and moved the forward level with Denmark’s Nicklas Jensen in the goalscoring chart.

Denmark posted its second victory of the tournament, bouncing back from defeat against Switzerland to see off Great Britain.

Despite dominating the game from start to finish, Slovakia ran into a roadblock in the shape of British goalie Ben Bowns. He made 41 saves to keep this game alive before Craig Ramsay's team took a 2-1 verdict.