Will Switzerland’s run continue?

First vs. fourth is the name of the game on Thursday evening at the Ice Hockey World Championship in Finland. However, it comes as a surprise to many that Switzerland will start the quarter-finals as No.1 and the USA as No.4.

The Swiss were particularly impressive offensively in the preliminary round group A and with a total of 34 goals scored the most in the entire tournament (together with Canada). Now, however, they will face their most fearsome opponent, the USA.

The last four head-to-head meetings have all gone to the USA, including a quarter-final clash at the 2015 World Cup in the Czech Republic. We also have the impression that the North American teams always take a little longer to settle in at World Championships.

Of course, this is also due to the larger ice surface, but this acclimatisation phase should now be over. Our forecast for the quarter-final between Switzerland and the USA is therefore a much more even match than the standings in the preliminary round would suggest.

Switzerland – statistics & current form

Switzerland have won Group A. Some of these were already very good performances by the Swiss, although it must be said that this group was also the somewhat weaker one after the exclusion of Russia.

It is not for nothing that three of the top favourites for the title also come from Group B (Finland, Sweden, Czech Republic). Nevertheless, everything is possible for Switzerland in the knockout round, as this year’s World Cup seems to be more open than ever before.

Eternal secret favourite

Switzerland has always been considered a sort of secret favourite at previous tournaments, which is of course due to their top players with NHL experience. With Timo Meier, Nico Hischier or Philipp Kurashev, they have a lot of class to offer again this year.

However, we see the Swiss’ defence as a bit of a problem zone. This was already obvious in the final group game against Germany, where the DEB team had numerous other great chances in addition to the three goals.

Defensively with some slackness

We don’t even want to talk about the luck with very dubious referee decisions. But in any case, this game as well as the starting phases against France or Canada have shown that the Swiss are not always solid.

For this reason, we do not see the Swiss as the big favourites in this game. The increasingly well-rehearsed US boys could pull off a slight surprise here, which is why we favour a bet on Team USA at strong odds for Switzerland v. USA.

Key Players:
G: Leonardo Genoni
D: Janis Moser
D: Jonas Siegenthaler
LW: Pius Suter
C: Nico Hischier
RW: Timo Meier

USA – Statistics & current form

The US team is a bit of a surprise packet at this year’s World Championships. For years they have used World Championships to give young players from the AHL a chance to play internationally instead of filling the team with seasoned NHL pros.

However, this tactic has never really worked. The Americans have not reached a single World Cup final since 1960. However, with four third-place finishes in the last eight World Championships, they have shown on a number of occasions that they are very close.

Are the Yanks finally taking the next step?

The USA will probably not get a better chance than this year for a final any time soon, as there are no big favourites in 2022 and the Russians are missing. In the preliminary round, the US already beat the Swedes, one of the top favourites, after extra time.

Although the US boys lack the really big names, they have one of the best goalkeepers of all teams in Alex Nedeljkovic of the Detroit Red Wings. The Blackhawks’ defensive duo of Seth and Caleb Jones is also more than respectable.

Better defence tips the scales

With 12 goals conceded so far (1.71 per game), they are better here than Switzerland (2.14 on average). Thanks to the knockout games of the last few years, however, we have learned that defence becomes more important from match to match. That clearly increases the chances of the US team.

We can also take the 2015 quarter-final as a good comparison, when the better defence gave the Yanks a 3:1 victory. It could be similar on Thursday, which is why the odds on the underdogs for Switzerland vs USA offer great value and are to be favoured.

Key Players:
G: Alex Nedeljkovic
D: Steh Jones
D: Caleb Jones
LW: Alex Galchenyuk
C: Sam Lafferty
RW: Ryan Hartman

Switzerland – USA Direct Comparison / H2H Balance

We have already discussed the direct comparison. With 5:1 from the last six games, this is clearly in favour of the USA. It was not uncommon for the Swiss to go into the match as the secret favourites, only to lose out in the end.

However, since the last encounter took place more than six years ago, hardly anyone of the current generation still has any memories of it, which weakens this comparison somewhat. Nevertheless, the USA will certainly look back on their record against the Swiss.

So the match can also be seen as a typical 50:50, in which the form of the day decides. This, in turn, makes betting on the US for Switzerland vs. USA more worthwhile, as it appears to be much more profitable with odds of up to 3.10.

Switzerland – USA Tip

There are some parallels between this match and Sweden’s game against the Canadians. There, too, we cannot say with certainty who is now the top favourite. However, we were more convinced by the improved performance of the US team than by Switzerland’s performance in the final group match against Germany.

Therefore, we recommend betting on the US team for Switzerland against the USA, among other things, of course, because of the higher odds. The fact that they also have the better goalkeeper in Nedeljkovic supports our thesis.

As a betting alternative, a goal bet for a player is also interesting in this matchup. Even if we see the Swiss behind in the end, bets on a goal by Nico Hischier are highly recommended at odds of up to 2.55.