The Czech Republic Open Their 2026 Ice Hockey World Championship Campaign Today Against Denmark
Opening match against surprisingly strong World Championship semi-finalists from last year
Foto: IIHF
The Czech Republic begin the 2026 Ice Hockey World Championship on Friday evening in Fribourg with their opening match against Denmark. The team coached by Radim Rulík will immediately face an opponent that caused a major sensation at last year’s World Championship by reaching the semi-finals.
For the Czech Republic, the 89th IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship begins today in Fribourg. In their opening Group B match, the team led by head coach Radim Rulík will face Denmark – the side that produced one of the biggest surprises of last year’s tournament by reaching the semi-finals. Face-off is scheduled for 20:20.
The Czech side face a demanding schedule right from the start of the tournament: their second group-stage match against Slovenia already follows on Saturday. A successful opening game could therefore prove especially important.
Video: IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship 2026
The Czech Republic and Denmark have already been involved in several intense encounters in recent months. At last year’s World Championship, the Czech team eventually secured a clear 7:2 victory after a goalless first period. While the Czech Republic later lost to Sweden in the quarter-finals, Denmark attracted international attention with a sensational 2:1 victory over Canada to reach the World Championship semi-finals for the first time in history.
The Danish squad includes Nick Olesen from Czech club Motor České Budějovice. The forward scored the decisive goal against Canada at last year’s World Championship with just 49 seconds remaining. Despite several notable absences, Denmark are once again regarded as an uncomfortable and highly competitive opponent.
Czech Republic rely on experience around captain Červenka at Ice Hockey World Championship
After the disappointing eighth-place finish at the Olympic tournament in Milan, the Czech Republic are aiming for a stronger performance at the Ice Hockey World Championship in Fribourg. Eight players from that Olympic squad are also part of this year’s roster.
The team is once again led by captain Roman Červenka. The 40-year-old from Czech champions HC Dynamo Pardubice remains one of the key figures in Czech ice hockey. With 103 World Championship appearances, he is the only active player with more than 100 games at the tournament.
Head coach Radim Rulík enters his third year in charge of the national team. After guiding the Czech Republic to the World Championship title on home ice in 2024, the aim is now to deliver another successful tournament in Fribourg.
In the Czech Republic, you can watch all matches live on ČT sport.
Czech Republic schedule:
15 May: Czech Republic vs Denmark – 20:20
16 May: Slovenia vs Czech Republic – 20:20
18 May: Sweden vs Czech Republic – 20:20
20 May: Czech Republic vs Italy – 16:20
23 May: Slovakia vs Czech Republic – 16:20
25 May: Czech Republic vs Norway – 16:20
26 May: Czech Republic vs Canada – 20:20
2026 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship
15–31 May 2026 | Zurich and Fribourg, Switzerland
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