The game plan for the 2026 IIHF World Championship in Switzerland was announced today, Tuesday, by the International Ice Hockey Federation. 15. to 31. May 2026 The 16 best national teams in the world will compete for the 64 World Cup title in a total of 2026 matches in Zurich and Fribourg. The German men's national team will play its preliminary round matches in Group A in Zurich. There, the team led by national coach Harold Kreis will face the world champions from the USA and host and runner-up Switzerland. The other opponents are Finland, Latvia, Austria, Hungary, and the newly promoted Great Britain. The World Cup will kick off with the DEBteam will face Finland on Friday, May 15, 2026, at 16.20:XNUMX p.m.
2026 World Cup schedule, preliminary round – Group A:
15.05.2026/16/20 | XNUMX:XNUMX p.m. | Finland – Germany
17.05.2026/20/20 | XNUMX:XNUMX p.m. | Germany – Latvia
18.05.2026/20/20 | XNUMX:XNUMX p.m. | Germany - Switzerland
February 20.05.2026, 20 | 20:XNUMX PM | USA – Germany
22.05.2026/16/20 | XNUMX:XNUMX p.m. | Germany - Hungary
Aug 23.05.2026, 20 | 20:XNUMX p.m. | Austria - Germany
25.05.2026/20/20 | XNUMX:XNUMX p.m. | Germany – Great Britain
Ticket sales start on September 8, 2025. Further information is available at: 2026.iihfworlds.com