The Lions’ quarterfinal opponent for Thursday was decided in Riga.
The Lions’ opponent for the quarter-final match on Thursday is clear. Canada, who finished second in Group B, will face Finland.
The opponent in the quarterfinals was decided when Canada defeated the Czech Republic 3–1 on Tuesday in Riga. Before this match, places 2 and 3 in the B group were still open.
Canada is a very familiar opponent for the Lions. No less than three previous World Cup finals have been played between Finland and Canada. In 2019 and 2022, the Lions were better, Canada in 2021.
Since Finland is the host team of the tournament, the match will be played in Tampere. However, due to the better group placement, Canada is technically the home team, meaning it has a playoff advantage.
In Finland, the semi-final match has typically been regarded as a watershed for the success of the World Cup tournament. A win means a place in the medal games, while a loss means bad disappointment.
The first place in group B was taken by Switzerland, who will face Germany in their own quarter-final.
In the top match of Group A, the USA beat Sweden in overtime, so they won their group. Thus, Sweden, who finished second in Group A, will face the Czech Republic in the quarter-finals.
The USA’s quarterfinal opponent will be either Slovakia or Latvia. Latvia must get at least one point from the match against Switzerland starting at 20:20 in order to advance past Slovakia.
The Lions will face their familiar final opponent, Canada, in the quarter-finals. PDO