The Swedish youth national team has won the gold medal at the 2026 U20 World Ice Hockey Championship, after defeating the Czech Republic with a score of 4-2 in the final held in Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA, reports IPN.
The Swedes led 3-0 until the last minutes of the match, but the Czechs reduced the difference towards the end, creating excitement almost until the final whistle. The decisive goal was scored in the empty net, just a few seconds before the end of the game.
The goals of the Swedish national team were scored by Karlsson Juustovaara – 14:46 (P1), Victor Eklund – 09:21 (P2), Sascha Boumedienne – 03:47 (P3) and Ivar Stenberg – 19:52 (P3), while for the Czech representative team, the scorers were Adam Jiricek – 17:36 (P3) and Matej Kubiesa – 19:36 (P3).
For Sweden, this is the third youth world title in history, following those won in 1981 and 2012, and the team ended the tournament undefeated. The Czech Republic, in turn, secured its fourth consecutive medal at the U20 World Championships, confirming its return to the elite of junior hockey.
Despite the defeat in the final, 18-year-old Czech Vojtech Cihar was named the most valuable player (MVP) of the U20 World Championship. The forward was the top scorer of the Czech team, accumulating 12 points during the tournament. He is a prospect of the Los Angeles Kings team, and last month he signed a three-year debut contract in the NHL.
The Canadian National team closed the podium after defeating Finland with a score of 6-3 in the bronze medal match.
