Predictions and odds for Czech Republic's performance at the 2022 Hockey World Championship

The Czech Republic team hasn't won a medal at a world championship since 2012. Will Kari Jalonen's men be able to break their losing streak? We predict the Czechs are capable of surprise!

The Czech national team is still regarded as a contender for high places in major international tournaments, but in reality, they have not been in the top three for a long time. At the World Championships, the Lions last won a medal in 2012, taking bronze. At the Olympics, they have only managed to reach the semi-finals once since 2006, but even then suffered two defeats in the decisive matches and were left without a medal.

The last time the Czechs could claim a World Cup title under Milos Riha in 2019, Andrei Vasilevsky saved 48 shots on goal and then all four shootouts, leaving the Lions in fourth place. The Czech national team was eliminated in the quarterfinals at the FIFA World Cup 2021, and their loss to Switzerland in the Beijing Olympics was followed by the resignation of head coach Filip Pesan.

The Czech Ice Hockey Federation was forced to take the drastic step of hiring a foreign coach, Kari Jalonen, for the first time in history. Under him, the Czech national team had already played several friendlies and then won two successive European Championships. At their home tournament, the Czechs scored seven points out of nine possible, and at the Swedish Beijer Games, they won all three games in regulation time. And so, the Czech Republic comes into the 2022 World Cup with a five-match winning streak.

The Czech Republic team hasn't won a World Cup medal in a long time, but they always make the playoffs, and in most cases, the Lions have done very well in the group stage. Now Kari Jalonen's men approach the 2022 World Cup with a five-game winning streak, which should give them confidence in their abilities. And they have a powerful and experienced squad: Filip Hronek, Tomas Hertl, Jakub Vrana, David Krejci, and Roman Cervenka. These factors justify a bet on the Czech Republic's total over 13.5 points in the group stage for 1.85.

If you look at the Lions' stats in recent World Cups, they scored 27 goals at the 2018 World Cup, 39 at the 2019 World Cup, and 27 at the 2021 World Cup. The team has scored 21 goals (4.20 goals per game on average) in their last five friendlies, which is very respectable. With this in mind, we'd like to bet on the Czech Republic's 23.5 goals in the 2022 World Cup group stage for 1.85.

The Czech Republic team is in Group B, a much stronger group than Group A in team selection. For that reason, they need to finish in the top 3 to avoid a quarter-final clash with Canada. If that is the case, the Czech Republic will be obliged to play either Danes, Germans, Swiss, or Slovakians in the quarter-finals so that the Czech Republic will be guaranteed a semi-final appearance at the 2022 World Cup.

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