After the completion of the group stage of the hockey world championship, Latvia's opponent in the quarterfinals has been determined. The Latvian team will play against Norway for a place in the semifinals. The match will take place on Thursday in Fribourg and will start at 21:20 Latvian time. The Norwegians finished second in Group B after Canada defeated the Czech Republic 3:2 in the final match. During the game, the Czechs led 2:0 after goals from Marek Alscher and Dominik Kubalik, but the Canadians managed to turn the game around. The main hero of the match was McLean Celebrini, who scored twice. The winning goal for Canada was scored by John Tavares. As a result, Canada won Group B with 20 points, Norway collected 15, the Czech Republic — 13, and Sweden — 12. In Group A, Switzerland took first place, defeating Finland 4:2. The Swiss quickly took a 2:0 lead, but the Finns managed to equalize thanks to a double from Aleksander Barkov. In the end, the hosts snatched victory. Ultimately, Switzerland finished the group stage with 21 points, Finland collected 18, and Latvia — 12. For the Latvian national team, reaching the quarterfinals is already an important step after last year's championship, when the team failed to make it to the playoffs. Now the Latvians face one of the most important matches of the tournament. Norway is considered a very tough opponent — the team plays hard, actively battles along the boards, and knows how to capitalize on opponents' mistakes. At the same time, many Latvian fans perceived this quarterfinal matchup as a relatively favorable option compared to potential matches against Canada, Switzerland, or Finland. In addition to the Latvia vs. Norway match, the quarterfinals will also feature Canada vs. the USA, the Czech Republic vs. Finland, and Switzerland vs. Sweden. The semifinals and medal matches will take place in Zurich. The world championship will conclude on May 31.