The national team of Belarus performs with varying success, but if we take into account the playing segment over the past couple of months, then we can conclude that it is in terrible shape. Belarusians have qualified for the World Championship for the first time in the last couple of years. Last time they took part in the group stage already in 2018, then they took the last 8th place in the standings of group A. They showed disgusting implementation of chances, while acting mediocre in defense. Now practically nothing has changed, Mikhail Zakharov’s wards cannot boast of high-quality attacking performers. Of course, they have several players from the Continental Hockey League, but this is unlikely to help them against the world’s giants.
Apart from the factor of their arena, Latvians do not have many trump cards. Most hockey players play for the weak Riga Dynamo, but they must have a high level of mutual understanding. Only one representative of the NHL is present. Latvia is not an easy team, but the level is significantly inferior to the Canadians. Perhaps the support of native fans will help hosts to show their best hockey.
