Sweden and Italy will face off in Fribourg, Switzerland, on 22 May. The match will take place as part of the Ice Hockey World Championship in Group B.
The Swedish national ice hockey team
‘Tre Kronor’ have not suffered a single defeat in their last 15 matches against ‘Gli Azzurri’. No surprises are expected in this match either.
Sweden had a mixed first half of the World Championship, losing to Canada and the Czech Republic, but beating Denmark (6–2) and thrashing Slovenia 6–0.
Lukas Raymond is the national team’s leading scorer in this tournament. He has scored four goals and provided three assists. Oliver Ekman-Larsson has been equally impressive. He has two goals and five assists to his name.
The Swedes have won six of their last 10 matches across all competitions and beat this opponent 5-2 at the Olympic Games earlier this year.
Forward Isak Henqvist will not be playing for the “Three Crowns”.
The Italian national ice hockey team
Meanwhile, Italy is increasingly at risk of being relegated to Division 1A. They have lost all four of their matches in this tournament against Canada, Slovakia, Norway and the Czech Republic.
The Azzurri have scored just two goals in the tournament but have already conceded 17. Nick Saracino and Gabriel Nitz have been the team’s goalscorers.
The Italians are on a run of five consecutive defeats ahead of the game. Their two wins in their last 10 matches were against Great Britain.
Goalkeeper Colin Furlong will not play for Italy in the match against Sweden.
Sweden v Italy – 2026 World Cup group standings
It is clear that the Swedes are the clear favourites. The team is highly motivated, as they currently sit in fifth place in the group standings, which means they cannot progress any further. A victory over the Italians would effectively settle the matter.
At the same time, the Italian national team is also highly motivated, as the side needs every point it can get to remain among the elite of world hockey. The team’s relegation is fairly predictable, given that last season the players from the Apennine Peninsula did not perform particularly well in Division 1A, notably in their match against Ukraine.
Sweden v Italy prediction
The Swedish national team is capable of thrashing their opponents, but the odds on offer are far from encouraging. For this very reason, it is worth betting on the over. Another likely option is a -4 handicap for the home side.
Over 6.5 at 1.9
