This year’s match between Ukraine and Japan will decide the fate of the ‘blue and yellows’ in their bid for one of the two places in the elite of world ice hockey. Meanwhile, the Japanese team is trying to hold on to its position and avoid relegation from Division IA.
The Ukrainian national ice hockey team
The Ukrainian national team is preparing for a decisive match in the 2026 World Ice Hockey Championship, taking place in Division IA. The final, fifth game of the tournament will be a decisive clash against the Japanese team. The live broadcast of this match is scheduled to begin at 17:00 Kyiv time on 8 May.
Dmytro Khrystych’s side are putting in a perfectly decent performance. In the match against Kazakhstan, the defence effectively collapsed, allowing the opponents to score three goals, which can be laid at the defenders’ door. Against strong opponents, the team look quite decent and have long deserved to return to the elite, which would be only fair.
Japan national ice hockey team
The Asian side has not been performing particularly well in recent seasons. It is worth noting, however, that last year the Ukrainians needed a decisive victory, but the ‘blue and yellows’ missed out on a chance to qualify for the World Cup in their match against Japan.
For the second year running, the Ukrainians will face the Japanese in the final round of this division’s competition. Last year, it was the Asian side that prevented Ukraine from reaching the elite division, securing a 3-2 victory.
The Japanese are quite prolific in attack. They scored three goals against both France and Lithuania.
Ukraine v Japan: where to watch the match
The live broadcast of the 2026 World Cup ice hockey match between Ukraine and Japan will be shown on Suspilne Sport.
Ukraine v Japan preview
The ‘Blue and Yellows’ are highly motivated to win. The team is stronger and keen not to repeat last season’s performance. An analysis of the match has been published on the Sport Bet Telegram channel.
The Japanese are also motivated, as they need to stay in the division. They are still likely to score one or two goals.
A home win and a higher number of goals scored are expected.
