Sweden Faces USA in Olympic Quarterfinal Clash

MILAN – Team Sweden advanced to the quarterfinal round of the 2026 Olympic Winter Games after a decisive 5-1 victory over Latvia on Tuesday. The win sets up a highly anticipated showdown with Team USA on Wednesday at PalaItalia Santa Giulia (3:10 p.m. ET; Peacock, NBC, ICI Tele, CBC Gem, CBC [JIP], SN, TSN [JIP]).

Sweden’s Road to the Quarterfinals

Sweden’s Olympic journey began with a strong 5-2 win against host nation Italy on February 11th, with goals from Gabriel Landeskog, Gustav Forsling, William Nylander, Mika Zibanejad, and Victor Hedman . They then faced a setback in a 4-1 loss to Finland on February 13th . A 5-3 victory over Slovakia on February 14th secured their place in the qualification round, despite a late goal from Slovakia . Most recently, on February 17th, Sweden defeated Latvia 5-1, with goals from Adrian Kempe, Gabriel Landeskog, Filip Forsberg, Mika Zibanejad, and William Nylander .

USA’s Path to the Quarterfinals

The United States earned a direct pass to the quarterfinals as the winner of their group. They began their Olympic campaign with a 5-1 victory over Latvia, followed by a 6-3 win against Denmark, and concluded the group stage with a 5-1 triumph over Germany .

Historical Matchups

Historically, Olympic matchups between Sweden and the USA have been closely contested. Sweden won both previous Olympic encounters: 2-1 in 2006 and 4-2 in 1998 . More recently, Sweden also secured a 2-1 victory in a 4-Nations tournament last year. However, the USA won a World Championship semi-final clash in 2025 with a score of 6-2 . Prior World Championship games saw Sweden win 5-2 in 2024 and the USA win 4-3 (OT) in 2023 and 3-2 (OT) in 2022. Sweden also won a semi-final matchup in the 2018 World Championship with a dominant 6-0 victory .

Game Details

The quarterfinal match between Sweden and the USA is scheduled for Wednesday, February 18th, at 21:10 Swedish time (3:10 p.m. ET) at PalaItalia Santa Giulia, which has a capacity of 12,000 spectators. Coverage will be available on SVT1, SVT Play, HBO Max, Peacock, NBC, ICI Tele, CBC Gem, CBC [JIP], SN, and TSN [JIP].

Team Rosters

Sweden

Sweden’s roster consists entirely of NHL players, including key stars such as Victor Hedman, Erik Karlsson, Rasmus Dahlin, Lucas Raymond, Elias Pettersson, and William Nylander . Sam Hallam is the team’s captain, in his final season before being replaced by Rikard Grönborg.

• Goalkeepers: Jacob Markstrom (Latest Jersey Devils), Filip Gustavsson (Minnesota Wild), Jesper Wallstedt (Minnesota Wild)
• Defensemen: Victor Hedman (Tampa Bay Lightning), Erik Karlsson (Pittsburgh Penguins), Gustav Forsling (Florida Panthers), Oliver Ekman-Larsson (Toronto Maple Leafs), Rasmus Dahlin (Buffalo Sabres), Rasmus Andersson (Calgary Flames), Philip Broberg (St. Louis Blues), Hampus Lindholm (Boston Bruins)
• Forwards: Elias Pettersson (Vancouver Canucks), Rickard Rakell (Pittsburgh Penguins), Adrian Kempe (Los Angeles Kings), Lucas Raymond (Detroit Red Wings), William Nylander (Toronto Maple Leafs), Jesper Bratt (New Jersey Devils), Gabriel Landeskog (Colorado Avalanche), Mika Zibanejad (New York Rangers), Filip Forsberg (Nashville Predators), Joel Eriksson-Ek (Minnesota Wild), Elias Lindholm (Boston Bruins), Pontus Holmberg (Tampa Bay Lightning), Alexander Wennberg (San Jose Sharks), Marcus Johansson (Minnesota Wild)

USA

The USA boasts a star-studded roster featuring Connor Hellebuyck (three-time NHL’s best goalie and last season’s MVP), Quinn Hughes and Zach Werenski on defense, and Auston Matthews (three-time NHL leading scorer and one-time MVP) leading the forward line . Other notable players include Brady Tkachuk, Matthew Tkachuk, Jack Eichel, and Jack Hughes.

Sweden’s Olympic History

Sweden is a historically successful nation in Olympic ice hockey, having secured nine medals throughout its Olympic history. This includes two gold medals (1994, 2006 – the only championship won with all countries fielding their best players), three silver medals (1928, 1964, 2014), and four bronze medals (1952, 1980, 1984, 1988) .