Latvia vs Canada Prediction: the Hosts Will Show Excellent Resistance

Prediction for the Hockey World Cup Latvia vs Canada match, which will take place on May 12. Who will turn out to be stronger? Check the team conditions! Several betting options are available.

The Latvian national team is preparing for the second home World Cup in the last three years. At the 2021 World Cup, the hosts, led by Bob Hartley, started with a sensational victory over the Canadians - 2:0 but did not qualify from the group. The experienced mentor completed his work in the national team, and Harijs Vitolins became the new head coach. The Latvians failed at the Olympic Games-2022, losing all four games at the tournament, and at the 2022 World Cup, they did not qualify from the group again. We will see a completely different Latvian national team at the upcoming World Championship. Now, there is not a single player from the capital's team. All the hockey players represent foreign championships.

The Canadian national team is one of the strongest teams in the world, and it could not be otherwise. Although the Maple Leafs do not gather all the strongest hockey players in the country, they are always competitive. In the last seven World Championships, they reached the final six times, and in three cases, they became winners. At the 2022 World Cup, the Canadians finished with silver medals, but they could have claimed the championship title. However, the strange judicial decisions did not allow them to reach the goal. At the 2023 World Cup, Andre Tourigny again has an experimental lineup, which defeated the Hungarian national team 5-2 in the only control game before the start of the tournament.

The Canadian national team has been playing hard against the Latvians in recent years. In the last four personal games, the Maple Leafs had a significant win only once. A couple of times, they had victories with a minimal difference in the score, and the last face–to–face match ended in favor of the Europeans - 2:0. Now the hosts of the 2023 World Cup will undoubtedly show excellent resistance to the competitor. The wards of Harijs Vitolins played many test matches perfectly, but the North Americans needed time to achieve mutual understanding. 

At the 2023 World Cup, the Canadian national team will show a curious goaltending team of Montembeault and Levy, who played 47 matches for two in the last season of the NHL, not being the main goalkeepers in such modest teams as Montreal and Buffalo. Before the start of the tournament, the Maple Leafs had a test match against the Hungarians, who are considered the main outsiders of the upcoming World Championship.