After an action-packed quarterfinal Friday that saw the hometown Americans sent home, the Semi-Finals are set for the 2026 World Junior Championship. Sweden and Finland are up first at 4:30 Eastern Standard Time (EST), and at 8:30 EST, Canada will face Czechia. Both games will take place at St. Paul’s Grand Casino Arena, home of the Minnesota Wild.
A lot is riding on these two games. Canada, the most recent gold-medal winner, finished off the podium the last two years and are eager to prove themselves as still a top hockey nation. But so is Finland, who has the most experiences roster and a 2025 silver medal. Czechia has recieved a medal for the last three years and will be eager to finally get a gold, while Sweden has once again looked dominant in preliminary play.
There’s no question that these are the four best teams at the 2026 World Juniors and all could go home with the gold. But who will come home victorious? To prepare for the big day, here’s a quick primer of the two games, including some players to watch from each team.
Sweden vs. Finland
One of the most storied rivalries in hockey resurfaces in the first game of the semi-final this year. Finland, often seen as Sweden’s “little brother,” has been far more successful in the World Juniors in recent years. Sweden hasn’t won a gold medal since 2012, capturing four silvers and two bronzes in the following 13 years. Meanwhile, Finland has won three golds, two silvers, and a bronze since 2014, with their most recent title coming in 2019. This year promises to be another all-out grudge match to see which nation will break their gold-medal drought.
Related: Guide to the 2026 World Junior Championship
The Swedes were the hottest team in the preliminary round this year, winning all four of their matchups, earning a clean 12 points and outscoring their opponents 21-8. They easily outpaced the Latvians in the quarterfinal after the score was tied up early in the first, beating them 6-3.
Anton Frondell, Jack Berglund, and Alfons Freij lead the team with seven points each, with Frondell currently tied for first in the tournament with five goals. Sweden also arguably has had the best goaltending duo, with starter Love Härenstam sitting with a .903 save percentage (SV%), the fourth-highest average of any goalie this year, and backup Herman Liv finishing his only game with a .941 SV%. Draft-eligible Ivar Stenberg hasn’t dominated as anticipated, but he’s still been an excellent secondary scorer with five points in five games.
The Finns have once again proven that they can rise to the occassion. They finished third in Pool B after falling 2-1 to Czechia and 7-4 to Canada, which gave them the unenviable task of facing the gold-medal-defending Americans in the quarterfinal. However, only Sweden and Canada outscored the flying Finns, who finished with 19 goals in four games, and their firepower was on full display against the Americans in their quarterfinal matchup, where they upset the defending gold-medalists with a 4-3 overtime victory.
Although Petteri Rimpinen hasn’t been as spectacular as he was last year, Finland has been getting offence from all over their lineup. 13 players have scored for Finland this tournament, with undrafted 19-year-old Roope Vesterainen leading the way with four tallies. Emil Hemming has also been lethal with the puck, putting away three goals, while defenceman Lasse Boelius has been the fourth-most-productive defenceman in 2026 with six points in five games.
Canada vs. Czechia
One of the youngest rivalries in World Junior hockey has become one of the most fiercest. Canada’s back-to-back fifth-place finishes were entirely Czechia’s fault, as the two teams met up in the quarterfinal in both 2024 and 2025, and the Czechs took both games. While Canada was sent home to contemplate what went wrong, Czechia took home back-to-back bronze medals. With a gold-medal berth on the line, Canada will be hungry for revenge, but the Czechs won’t roll over without a fight.
Of the four teams in the Semi-Finals, Czechia has the least potent offence, finishing the preliminary tournament with 18 goals in four games, but their only loss came against a back-and-forth game against the Canadians on the first day of the tournament. They also have picked up steam as the tournament has progressed, dispatching Switzerland 6-2 in the quarterfinal.
Defenceman Tomas Galvas has been one of the most impressive players this year with three goals and eight points in five games and could challenge for the Tournament MVP. Also in the running is Vojtech Cihar, whose nine points sits tied for second in the tournament, as is Adam Jiricek, who is second in goals as a defenceman. Goalies Michal Orsulak and Matyas Marik have been fine, sitting right in the middle of all goalies this year with sub-.875 SV%, but Marik’s 2.00 goals against average (GAA) is one of the lowest.
Canada has been much more on-brand in 2026 than in previous years. With a tournament-leading 25 goals in the preliminary round, they cruised to a first-place finish in Pool B. But it wasn’t without some stumbles, namely a 2-1 overtime victory over Latvia that was almost a perfect replica of last year’s embarassing loss. A dominant 7-1 victory over Slovakia in the quarterfinal has put most of those fears to rest heading into one of Canada’s toughest games so far.
As expected, Zayne Parekh has been excellent for the Canadians after being loanded from the Calgary Flames. In five games, he leads the tournametn with 10 points and has been a huge factor in Canada’s offence. They’ve also seen offence from all over the lineup, with 19 of their 22 skaters registering a point this year. Jack Ivankovic has also been excellent between the pipes and currently leads all goalies with a 0.99 GAA and .959 SV% after two games. He’ll almost certainly get the start against Czechia ahead of Carter George, who, like Rimpinen, hasn’t looked as strong as he did in 2025.
Although the home crowd won’t have a team to cheer for, Sunday’s semi-final matchups promise to be some of the most exciting games of the 2026 World Juniors. All four teams have been fiercely competitive throughout the tournament, and with a gold-medal berth on the line, everyone will be firing at 110%. Anything could happen, which is what makes the World Juniors one of the most exciting tournaments on the hockey calendar.