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Tournament format
In the championship, 16 teams are divided into two groups of eight, deemed Group A and Group B. Each group will play a round-robin tournament, after which the top four teams in each group will advance to the knockout stages.
Teams from opposite groups will meet in the quarter-finals, with the top-placed teams in one group facing the bottom-placed teams in the other, according to the system: 1A vs 4B, 2A vs 3B, 1B vs 4A, and 2B vs 3A.
If the result in the matches is tied after three periods, the games will continue in overtime. If no team scores in extra time, the winner will be determined by a series of post-match shoot-outs.
Groups
Group A (Zurich): USA, Switzerland, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Austria, Hungary, Great Britain
Group B (Fribourg): Canada, Sweden, Czech Republic, Denmark, Slovakia, Norway, Slovenia, Italy
Venues
Swiss Life Arena (Zurich)
The Swiss Life Arena was designed to be a multifunctional event space with modern infrastructure. With its steeply graded seating and compact construction, the arena is a 'cauldron' with a focus on sports and corporate events. It is located approximately seven kilometres west of downtown Zurich.
The Swiss Life Arena in Zurich has a total capacity of approximately 12,000 spectators. Opened in 2022, this multifunctional venue serves as the home of the ZSC Lions ice hockey team and features a combination of seating and standing areas, including specialised sections for hockey matches.
BCF Arena (Fribourg)
Emotions, ice hockey at the highest level, and a modern spectator experience: the BCF Arena is not only the most liked arena in Switzerland by fans and the heart of local sport, but also the home to HC Fribourg-Gotteron.
Originally built in 1983 as the Patinoire Saint-Leonard, it underwent a massive reconstruction from 2018 to 2020 that transformed it into a future-oriented venue for sports and events. It will have a capacity of 7,500 spectators for the 2026 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship.
World Championship winners in the last decade
2025: USA
2024: Czech Republic
2023: Canada
2022: Finland
2021: Canada
2020: (Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic)
2019: Finland
2018: Sweden
2017: Sweden
2016: Canada
World Championship match schedule
This schedule promises a high-octane tournament, kicking off with a massive heavyweight clash between Sweden and Canada on day one. The initial days are packed with critical matchups, including the 18th of May, which features a brutal double-header: Finland vs USA and the Czech Republic vs Sweden. These games will likely dictate the seeding for the knockout stages.
The tension reaches its peak during the final days, highlighted by the legendary Slovakia vs Czech Republic derby on the 23rd of May. The group stage concludes on the 26th of May with a blockbuster finale as the Czechs face Canada and hosts Switzerland take on Finland. With the points usually being very tight, these closing matches will provide a dramatic finish to determine the quarter-final pairings.
In what follows, all times are Central European Standard Time (UTC +2 hours; North American Eastern time +6 hours). Groups noted in parentheses.
May 15th: 16:20 Sweden vs Canada, Finland vs Germany; 20:20: USA vs Switzerland, Denmark vs Czech Republic
May 16th: 12:20: Great Britain vs Austria, Slovakia vs Norway; 16:20: Hungary vs Finland, Canada vs Italy; 20:20: Switzerland vs Latvia, Slovenia vs Czech Republic
May 17th: 12:20: Italy vs Slovakia, Great Britain vs USA; 16:20: Austria vs Hungary, Sweden vs Denmark; 20:20: Germany vs Latvia, Norway vs Slovenia
May 18th: 16:20: Canada vs Denmark, Finland vs USA; 20:20: Germany vs Switzerland, Czech Republic vs Sweden
May 19th: 16:20: Latvia vs Austria, Italy vs Norway; 20:20 Hungary vs Great Britain, Slovenia vs Slovakia
May 20th: 16:20: Austria vs Switzerland, Czech Republic vs Italy; 20:20: USA vs Germany, Sweden vs Slovenia
May 21st: 16:20: Norway vs Canada, Finland vs Latvia; 20:20: Switzerland vs Great Britain, Denmark vs Slovakia
May 22nd: 16:20: Canada vs Slovenia, Germany vs Hungary; 20:20: Finland vs Great Britain, Italy vs Sweden
May 23rd: 12:20: Denmark vs Slovenia, USA vs Latvia; 16:20: Switzerland vs Hungary, Slovakia vs Czech Republic; 20:20: Austria vs Germany, Sweden vs Norway
May 24th: 16:20: Denmark vs Italy, Great Britain vs Latvia; 20:20: Finland vs Austria, Canada vs Slovakia
May 25th: 16:20: USA vs Hungary, Czech Republic vs Norway; 20:20: Germany vs Great Britain, Slovenia vs Italy
May 26th: 12:20: Norway vs Denmark, Hungary vs Latvia; 16:20: Slovakia vs Sweden, USA vs Austria; 20:20: Switzerland vs Finland, Czech Republic vs Canada
Knockout rounds
The knockout stage will take place primarily at the Swiss Life Arena in Zurich.
Quarter-finals: May 28th (Two games in Zurich, two in Fribourg)
Semi-finals: May 30th (Both games in Zurich)
Bronze & Gold Medal matches: May 31st (Zurich)