Is the World Cup favorite too strong for hosts Czech Republic?

The Czechs are currently writing their very own ice hockey fairytale. Even before the competition, the hosts of the World Championship were among the favorites to win the title. Nevertheless, it was not to be expected that the home side would knock the USA, one of the most promising gold contenders, out of the tournament with a shutout in the first knockout game. Can they achieve a similar feat against Sweden in the semi-finals? As expected, the Czech Republic are the underdogs to win the game – but anything but clear-cut

Sweden, meanwhile, had to work hard to fight their way into the semi-finals. As expected, the Finnish national team’s elite defensive ranks were fully prepared and put the Three Crowns’ offensive engine to the ultimate test. The Swedes’ narrow semi-final victory in overtime left the bookmakers a little doubtful about the top favorites. Those who also believe the Czechs can pull off the next coup can register with Oddset and almost triple their stake for successful bets on a regular victory for the Czech hosts.

On Saturday at 2:20 pm in the semi-final of the Ice Hockey World Championship 2024, will the bookies’ expectation that we will only see a few goal celebrations be confirmed? It will certainly be exciting; it is also conceivable that the match will pick up speed in the final third.

If the defensive shells start to fall in the final period, things could get heated again – especially as the Czech defense is not as strong as Finland’s defense against the overpowering Swedish attack. It is therefore worth considering odds of 1.87 at Bwin for betting on over 1.5 goals in the final third. What’s more, the popular provider is currently offering a bonus promotion that can be used specifically for betting on the Ice Hockey World Cup 2024!

Sweden – Statistics & current form

World Championship favorite Sweden has an exhausting quarter-final behind it. As was to be expected, Finland proved to be just the right opponent to paralyze the Swedish attacking machine. The bookmakers were expecting just a few goals before the game. However, even the top bookmakers were not expecting the Finns to make such good use of their defensive specialties – and the plan almost worked out.

The three-crown team got off to an excellent start to the match. As we know from Sweden’s unbeaten run at this World Cup so far, team boss Sam Hallam’s side built up a lot of pressure right from the start. Finland withstood the pressure impressively, but had considerable difficulties in building up their own play. Nevertheless, mission number one was successful: defend like hell.

Despite the rare signs of life in attack, the Finnish national team never looked caught off guard. Even though the Swedish title favorites kept the pressure on for long stretches, it was always clear that the Finnish strategy was not falling apart at the seams. Finland confidently exploited their world-class defense to wear down their opponents bit by bit. After a full 55 minutes, the time had finally come: Sweden defender Rasmus Dahlin scored the first goal of the game to give Finland the lead. Suddenly it was a completely different game

Sweden once again relied on a powerful offense

With just five minutes left to play, Sweden were now in a defensive position. The yellow and blue did a good job, but the Finns took control, built up exceptional pressure and, above all, showed that they can also be a force in offense. As a result, the favorites’ goalie Filip Gustavsson had to reach behind him for the first time with 58 seconds remaining.

In the ensuing overtime, the Swedish national team’s style of play in regulation time almost proved to be their undoing. Finland took advantage of the gradually depleted energy tanks of the three-crown team and stole Sweden’s role as the dominant team – until Hallam’s protégés were given a power-play opportunity after five minutes. In the resulting four-on-three, even the Finns’ top defense simply no longer had the means to close the spaces sufficiently against Sweden’s offensive power.

After one minute of overtime, which must have felt like an hour for Finland in view of Sweden’s fireworks, it was only a matter of time before the winning goal was scored. 2:1 after extra time – lucky, but well deserved! Between Sweden and the Czech Republic, the odds of the best sports betting apps imply that an even bigger challenge awaits in the semi-finals. Sweden are once again the favorites against the hosts, but not as clearly as against the defensive bulwark of the Finns

Czech Republic – statistics & current form

In isolation, the 0:1 final result of the quarter-final match against the USA suggests that the Czech Republic may have chosen a similar strategy to Finland in the parallel duel against Sweden. In the showdown with the Americans, the hosts were keen to keep the favorites’ highly dangerous offense in check and defend compactly. Nevertheless, there was less passivity in the home side’s game strategy compared to the Finnish match plan.

With betting odds of up to 2.90 for a Czech triumph in the semi-final between Sweden and the Czech Republic, the bookmakers have much more faith in the hosts than would have been expected before the tournament. These odds imply a probability of 34.5 percent that the Czechs will reach the final without the need for overtime. Can coach Radim Rulik’s team withstand the Swedish offense as robustly as the USA?

Czech Republic capitalized on their only powerplay opportunity

Ahead of the semi-final between Sweden and the Czech Republic, it’s worth noting that despite the lack of goals, the Czech triumph against the USA differs from the Finns’ near-victory in a number of important ways. One of the few parallels worth mentioning is that the North American favorites got off to a much better start than the underdogs and put the pressure on early on.

However, it did not take long for the Czech Republic to seize control of the game – and remained largely in control until the end. The hosts put in an outstanding performance in defense. The USA, who had been the most prolific scoring team of all the World Cup participants in the group stage, were unable to get their attacking machinery going, partly due to their own shortcomings.

The decisive factor was ultimately a lucky but deserved powerplay goal in the middle third during the only Czech overtime opportunity. After a scoreless final period, the sensation was complete: the hosts had eliminated one of the top favorites for the title and next set their sights on perhaps the most dangerous team in the world championship. This time, the bookies are even more certain that few goals will be scored. The semi-final of the 2024 Ice Hockey World Cup between Sweden and the Czech Republic has unusually generous odds for betting tips on over 5.5 goals. There are top odds of 2.82 in the Betano sports betting repertoire, but these are associated with a correspondingly high risk.

Sweden – Czech Republic head-to-head / H2H result

The 26:15 win record so far, with Sweden ahead against the Czech Republic, reinforces the oddsmakers’ prediction that the Scandinavians will take to the ice as favorites in the semi-finals. The two nations have already met twice this year. Even if the current starting position is different due to the squad, it should be mentioned for the sake of completeness that Sweden has won both of these clashes

Sweden – Czech Republic betting tip

The Czech quarter-final was a prime example of how valuable home advantage can be in a play-off clash. We also expect a strong performance from the Czechs in the semi-final, who will be whipped to the front by the celebrating fans. Nevertheless, it will be even more difficult to remain unscathed defensively against the top favorites in the World Cup.

The defense of Finland’s quarter-final opponent Sweden is one of the best in the world and yet has barely managed to keep the number of shots on goal by the Swedish offense below their average from the group stage (around 40).

The fact that the USA’s offense weakened in places against the Eastern Europeans and Sweden only narrowly prevailed in the quarter-finals makes for interesting odds in the semi-finals of the 2024 Ice Hockey World Championship. Combined with the Czech home advantage, there are tempting odds of 2.22 available at Betano for a Swedish triumph in the regular time between Sweden and the Czech Republic.

We expect the hosts to put up a good fight. Nevertheless, we also believe that the Swedish offensive power will find a better approach to the Czech defense than was the case against the defensive elite of Finland. We therefore gratefully accept the increased quotes for betting on Sweden and confidently place five units