The quarterfinals of the 2026 World Junior Championship (WJC) delivered plenty of excitement across the four games. Moving on to the semi-finals, four countries are looking to get their crack at the gold medal game.
Sweden vs Finland (4:30 p.m.)
After a strong victory over Latvia in the quarterfinals, Sweden is one of two teams in the tournament to remain undefeated (along with Canada). They enter their semi-finals matchup against Finland looking for revenge. At last year’s tournament, Benjamin Rautiainen (Tampa Bay Lightning) scored the overtime winner to send the Finns to the gold medal game over the Swedes.
This year, Sweden has been led by players like Jack Berglund (Philadelphia Flyers), Anton Frondell (Chicago Blackhawks), and Viggo Björck up front. They have a deep roster that can make a play at any point of the game, on top of having one of the tournament’s best power play units. Love Härenstam has looked great for Sweden as well, helping solidify the goaltender position this year.
For the Swedes to return to the gold medal game and try to win their first gold since the 2012 tournament, when Mika Zibanejad scored the game-winning overtime goal against Russia, they will need to continue playing a strong offensive game. They will also need their defense, led by Alfons Freij (Winnipeg Jets), point-wise, to be at the top of their game.
Finland is riding high off their overtime win in the quarterfinals over the host country, the United States. After a couple of games in the group play stage of the tournament, Petteri Rimpinen (Los Angeles Kings) was really tested by the Americans and played a great game to help his team secure the victory. He will need to do so again when they take on Sweden. The Finns will also need their penalty kill to be better against the high-powered Swedish power play, as they sit at 66% success rate through this point in the tournament.
Through the first five games of the tournament, the Finns have been led by Jasper Kuhta (six points), Matias Vanhanen, and Lasse Boelius (both with five points). They will need to match Sweden’s depth in their lineup if they want to seek retribution for last year’s gold medal loss to the United States.
Related: Guide to the 2026 World Junior Championship
This game will be a tightly contested one, with plenty of history, as these two groups of players have played each other quite a bit at the Under-18 level.
Favorite: Sweden
Players to Watch: Love Härenstam (Sweden), Ivar Stenberg (Sweden), Joona Saarelainen (Finland), Petteri Rimpinen (Finland)
Canada vs Czechia (8:30 p.m.)
As the tournament has progressed, Canada has seemingly gotten their offense rolling, and it showed up once again in their quarterfinals matchup against Slovakia, where they won 7-1. They will be looking for further revenge (Canada won their group-play matchup) against a Czechia team that eliminated them in the quarterfinals the last two years at the tournament. After playing only once in the group play stage, Jack Ivankovic (Nashville Predators) wasn’t tested much against Slovakia. Still, he was strong when he was, and it sounds like he will be the starter for the Canadians, taking the reins from Carter George (Los Angeles Kings).
The top-to-bottom skill and depth on the Canadians’ roster will be something the Czechs could have a hard time keeping up with. While the likes of Michael Misa (San Jose Sharks), Gavin McKenna, and Tij Iginla (Utah Mammoth) have garnered plenty of attention with their production, the line of Sam O’Reilly (Tampa Bay Lightning), Caleb Desnoyers (Utah Mammoth), and Cole Beaudoin (Utah Mammoth) have been one of the teams best lines overall and could end up being one of the games biggest x-factors.
While the Czechs did lose their tournament-opening game to Canada on Dec. 26, they looked strong all-around against the Canadians’ firepower and kept the game close. They have also looked stronger on both ends of the ice as the tournament has progressed, thanks in part to Radim Mrtka (Buffalo Sabres) finally getting into the lineup. Where the Czechs will need to really be at the top of their game is on special teams. They face a tough task of slowing down a Canadian power play with a success rate over 90%, and they will need to find a way to crack through Canada’s tough penalty kill as well.
Up front, the Czechs have been led by Václav Nestrašil (Chicago Blackhawks), Tomas Galvas, and Vojtěch Čihař (Los Angeles Kings). Galvas has looked like a defenseman capable of winning the tournament’s best defenseman award and will be a player to keep a close eye on at both ends of the ice. They will also need a strong showing from their goaltending against Canada.
Favorite: Canada
Players to Watch: Jack Ivankovic (Canada), Cole Beaudoin (Canada), Tomas Galvas (Czechia), Radim Mrtka (Czechia)
Semi-Finals Will Be Tightly Contested
Both of the semi-final games will certainly be tightly contested, with all four countries clearly having the talent to be one game away from playing for a gold medal. Each game has the chance to end up being the game of the tournament and could both be one or two score games when it is all said and done.
