On the eve, May 30, it became known who would meet in the decisive match on the ice. In the first semifinal, the host team of the championship, Switzerland, proved stronger than the Norwegian team (6:0), while in the second, the Finns triumphed over the Canadian team with a score of 4:2. Thus, the final will be European, without the 'Maple Leafs' and American hockey players. The teams of Switzerland and Finland will meet at the Swiss Life Arena in Zurich. The match will start at 21:20 Latvian time. Since this year's World Championship is full of unexpected victories and defeats, it is even difficult to predict who will ultimately become the world champion in 2026. For Finland, this is their first appearance in the World Championship final since 2022, when the team won gold medals. Switzerland will enter the battle for gold for the sixth time. It is worth noting that in the first five final matches, they failed to seize victory. Will they succeed this time? There is also intrigue in the fact that the only defeat the Finns suffered was inflicted by none other than the Swiss team in the group stage. Will the Finns take revenge? And, accordingly, the Canadian team will fight for the bronze medals against Norway. The bronze match will also take place at the Swiss Life Arena in Zurich, starting at 16:30. The final match for the gold medals has a special format: if the main time ends in a draw, a shootout series is not conducted. The teams play overtime in full strength for 20 minutes (with 15-minute breaks) until the first goal is scored. In the bronze match, the overtime will last 10 minutes or until the first goal is scored. In case of a tie, a shootout series will follow. The playoff format is 'three on three'. In the group stage of the 2026 World Championship, 16 teams participated, divided into two groups of eight teams each. The top four teams from each group advanced to the playoffs. The teams that finished in eighth place were relegated to Division I Group A - these are Great Britain and Italy.