Denmark Ice Hockey World Championship semi-final, Saturday, May 24, 2025, at 6:20 p.m.
Who would have thought it? On Thursday, co-host Denmark caused one of the biggest upsets in the history of the Ice Hockey World Championships in the quarterfinals of the 2025 finals.
The Scandinavians knocked the heavily favored Canadians out of the tournament with a 2-1 victory and are now in the World Championship semifinals for the first time in their history. Will the Lions’ run continue?
I would like to answer that question in my Switzerland vs. Denmark prediction. Coach Mikael Gath’s men will face the Swiss national team on Saturday, just as they did on the second day of the group stage.
The reigning vice world champions won the first duel 5-2. This time, too, the odds for Switzerland vs. Denmark clearly favor the “Ice Genuflectors.”
Even against the Canadians, the Danes were clear underdogs from the perspective of bookmakers with German licenses. And, unsurprisingly, the Switzerland vs. Denmark odds are not much different.
The odds for a Swiss victory have climbed to a high of 1.40. And for a Scandinavian victory, you can get Switzerland vs. Denmark betting odds between 6.50 and 8.00.
Both nations have played each other 33 times. The “Ice Genuflectors” clearly lead the head-to-head record with 29 wins (1 draw). In the group match at the current World Cup, Denmark was only trailing 0-1 after the first period.
The Scandinavians even managed to even the score in the second period (2-2). The favorites then secured victory with two goals in the final period. If you’re expecting a few goals this time around, the Switzerland vs. Denmark tip “Over 5.5 goals” could make sense.
Betano is offering odds of 2.15 for this. New and existing customers can secure the current Betano promotional code voucher before placing their bet!
In the last 13 years, Switzerland has reached the World Cup final three times and has always had to settle for silver. This was also the case at the 2024 World Cup, when they suffered a 0-2 defeat against hosts Czech Republic in Prague.
This year, the Swiss are determined to finally win their first world title. The Swiss national team got off to a good start in the tournament with six wins and only one overtime loss against the Czech Republic.
This included a 3-0 victory over the USA, which was enough to secure first place in Group B. In the quarterfinals, head coach Patrick Fischer’s team put on a real show of strength.
Neighbors Austria were defeated 6-0. After just 25 minutes, the favorites, who ended up with a shot ratio of 40-13, were leading 5-0 and then took their foot off the gas a little.
Goalie Leonardo Genoni thus kept a clean sheet for the third time at the 2025 World Championship. Now the Swiss are aiming to reach two consecutive finals for the first time in their World Championship history.
The heart of the team is made up of three professionals from the New Jersey Devils: Nico Hischier, Timo Meier, and Jonas Siegenthaler. But J.J. Moser from the Tampa Bay Lightning also plays an important role.
Denmark won its preliminary round games against Kazakhstan (5-1), Hungary (8-2), and Norway (6-3). It also prevailed against Germany in a penalty shootout. On the other hand, there were clear defeats against the USA (0-5), Switzerland (2-5), and the Czech Republic (2-7).
As a result, the co-hosts did not necessarily look like a candidate for the World Championship semifinals. But in the quarterfinals against heavy favorites Canada, the Danes fought selflessly, cheered on by their home crowd.
Goalie Frederik Dichow, who had become the hero in Tuesday’s penalty shootout against Germany, conceded the only goal in the 46th minute. The Canadians had already dominated the first period with a shot ratio of 18:4.
But in the last two minutes, the hosts managed to completely turn the game around with two goals. First, Nikolaj Ehlers of the Winnipeg Jets, who had already scored the 1-1 goal against the DEB selection, found the net.
Then, 49 seconds before the final buzzer, Nick Olesen (Motor Ceské Budejovice) scored the celebrated 2-1 goal. The Scandinavians celebrated their second victory in an international match against Canada.
Reaching the World Championship semifinals is the best result ever for the Danish Ice Hockey Federation (DIU). The Lions had previously reached the quarterfinals in 2010 and 2016, ultimately finishing eighth.
Conclusion: Can the Danes cause another sensation and knock out the next favorite? My answer to that question is a resounding no! And there’s one main reason for that: the Lions will lose their home advantage in the semifinals!
From the last four onwards, all matches will be played at the Avicii Arena in Stockholm. In this duel, the quality of the Swiss, who have played a strong tournament so far, should prevail in the end.
In my Switzerland vs. Denmark prediction, I am therefore going for: Victory Switzerland HC -1!
