The group allocation for the 2026 IIHF World Championship in Switzerland has been confirmed. The IIHF announced the constellations today, Wednesday. Accordingly, the German men's national team will play the preliminary round matches in Zurich Fribourg has been confirmed as the next location, where the other group will be based. The World Championships in Switzerland will take place from May 15 to 31, 2026.
In Group A The team of national coach Harold Kreis will face world champions USA and runners-up Switzerland. Other opponents include Finland, newly promoted Great Britain, Hungary, Latvia, and Austria. Group B consists of Denmark, Canada, Italy, Norway, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden and the Czech Republic.
DEB-Sports director Christian Künast on the group allocation: “We are looking forward to Zurich with the great arena and the many German Fans, who will surely accompany us again, as they did recently in Denmark, and support us loudly. We will compete in an attractive group with the world champions, the runners-up, and other strong nations that have recently demonstrated their qualities. In this respect, anticipation is already growing for the challenge that awaits us at the 2026 World Cup."