Sweden vs Czech Republic 18 May 2026 Prediction

Two top European national teams meet in the group stage of the World Championship. The teams started the tournament differently. Can Sweden recover from its loss to Canada and avoid another defeat against a major rival? Can the Czech Republic continue its winning start?

Sweden Had Problems From an Unexpected Area

Tre Kronor manager Sam Hallam was able to put together a solid World Championship roster, with almost half of the team made up of NHL players. Unfortunately for Sweden, Canada was the opening opponent. Surprisingly, the European team fully neutralized the Maple Leafs’ star first line led by Sidney Crosby and Macklin Celebrini. However, the Yellow and Blue could not handle Canada’s other forward lines and lost 5-3. It is worth noting that Hallam’s team played very well on the penalty kill, not allowing Canada to convert any of its three power-play chances. Overall, though, Sweden has not looked fully convincing: including friendlies, it has lost three of its last four games.

Sweden Predicted Lineup: Hellberg (Söderblom) — Larsson, Ekholm — Stenberg, Bjork, Raymond

Full Roster: defensemen — Johansson, Ekman-Larsson, Hagg, Persson; forwards — Holmstrom, de la Rose, Karlsson, Heineman, Sundqvist, Petersson, Asplund, Berglund, Silfverberg

Manager: Sam Hallam

The Czech Republic Controlled Denmark in Its Opener

Radim Rulik’s team had a strong first period in its opening World Championship game: the Czech Republic clearly outshot Denmark and scored two unanswered goals. After that, the team slowed the tempo and calmly finished off a 4-1 win. The only goal allowed came late in the third period while playing 4-on-6, after Denmark pulled its goalie. Still, Czech Republic fans should not overrate that win: Denmark brought one of its weakest rosters in recent years. Rulik’s team also lost four of five games before the World Championship. The real test for this roster, which does not have many NHL players, will come against top opponents.

Czech Republic Predicted Lineup: Korenar (Pavlat) — Hronek, Kempny — Blumel, Sedlak, Cervenka

Full Roster: defensemen — Cibulka, Hajek, Alscher, Tichacek, Galvas; forwards — Vozenilek, Tomasek, Flek, Kaut, Melovsky, Kubalik, Beranek, Cernoch, Chmelar, Kovarčik

Manager: Radim Rulik

The Czech Republic Has Trouble Against Tre Kronor

Sweden has won five of the last six head-to-head meetings. At last year’s World Championship, the Yellow and Blue beat the Czech Republic 5-2 in the quarterfinals. The national team managed to end that poor run against an uncomfortable opponent only recently, when it beat Tre Kronor 3-1 at Sweden’s home stage of the Euro Hockey Tour.

Sweden vs Czech Republic Prediction: Sweden to Win at 1.71

• Main Pick: Sweden’s roster at this tournament looks stronger than the Czech Republic’s. The opening-game results should not be overvalued because the level of opposition was very different: Canada is clearly stronger than Denmark right now. It is also worth noting that the Czech Republic has struggled against the Yellow and Blue recently, with only one win in the last six meetings. With that in mind, the pick is Sweden to win at 1.71. For a higher-risk option, a possible exact score is 3-2.
• Total Pick: An open game should not be expected here. The six-goal mark was reached in only one of the last four head-to-head meetings and in two of Sweden’s last five games. The Czech Republic’s last five games have averaged 4.2 total goals. These numbers point toward Under 5.5 Goals at 1.80.
• Power-Play Goals Pick: In its tournament opener, Sweden converted one power-play chance and did not allow Canada to punish it for penalties. In the Czech Republic’s first game, there was also only one special-teams goal, scored by Denmark. Based on that, the logical pick is Under 1.5 power-play goals.

The prediction will be updated and expanded after the Slovenia vs Czech Republic and Denmark vs Sweden games are completed.