Japan's men's ice hockey team lost 5-0 against Germany in the final qualifiers for the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics on Thursday.

Japan, ranked 21st in the world, had no answer to 10th-ranked Germany and faces a tough task to make its way to the Games in South Korea as it needs to top a four-team round-robin tournament that also includes 12th-ranked Latvia and 17th-ranked Austria.

Eight teams and Olympic host South Korea have already booked their berths in the 12-team competition. Three teams topping their respective qualifying groups of four will complete the list.