Sweden - Canada predictions and free betting tips [26/05/2024]

Today, in the match for the third place at the World Ice Hockey Championship in the Czech Republic, we'll see national teams of Sweden and Canada face off.

Team Sweden

Team Sweden has showcased an impressive form at the 2024 World Ice Hockey Championship, finishing the group stage with a perfect record, winning all 8 games and conceding just 9 goals, which is their best result in the last 70 years. However, in the semi-final against the hosts, Czech Republic, the Swedish defence unexpectedly faltered. The Swedes conceded 7 goals, a real debacle for them, and ultimately lost 3-7, sending them into the bronze medal match. In the quarter-final, Sweden narrowly overcame Finland, winning only in overtime with a score of 2-1. But the ensuing clash with the Czechs in the semi-final exposed serious issues in the team's play, unable to contain the powerful offence of their opponents. Despite a strong lineup, the "yellow-blue" once again failed to prove their superiority in the later stages of the tournament, even though they outshot their opponents 40-22 in the semi-final, but with such defence and conversion, there's no place for them in the final.  The Swedish team has consistently shown high results in the preliminary stages of world championships in recent years, but often struggles in the playoffs. Despite a strong squad and excellent group stage performance, Sweden has been unable to overcome the semi-final hurdle.

Team Canada

At the 2024 World Ice Hockey Championship, Team Canada confirmed their high calibre, successfully traversing the group stage with 19 points, not suffering a single defeat in regular time, and demonstrating an impressive offensive power with 32 goals scored. However, their defensive problems also came to the fore, as the Canadians conceded 18 goals. In the quarter-final match, Canada had no trouble, securing a 6-3 victory over Slovakia, but their semi-final encounter against Switzerland proved much more challenging. In the semi-final match against Switzerland, the Canadians started by conceding two goals in the first period but managed to claw back by scoring one goal each in the second and third periods, sending the match into a shootout. However, in the penalty shootout, luck deserted the Canadians, and they lost 2-3, stripping them of the chance to fight for the gold.  Despite a strong lineup and brilliant performances in the previous rounds, Canada once again confirmed their reputation as a team capable of both stability in the group stage and unexpected failures in key playoff matches.

Head-to-Head

Since 2017, the teams have faced each other 5 times, sharing 2 victories each. At the World Championship on 26 May 2022 in the quarter-final, Canada triumphed with a score of 4-3. During the Olympic Games on 16 February 2022 in the quarter-final, Sweden won with a 2-0 result. In the Channel One Cup on 17 December 2021, the Canadians were superior again, winning 3-1. On 12 February 2018 in a friendly match, Canada also showcased their dominance, finishing the game with a 4-1 score.

Match Prediction Sweden vs Canada

Both teams came to the Czech Republic aiming for gold, and for Sweden, bronze would be a notable failure considering their NHL-laden roster, while Canada's lineup is comparatively less star-studded. Usually, bronze medal matches tend to be high-scoring affairs; I'll go with a total over 6 goals.