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It is time for the Round of 16 in the FIFA World Cup 2018 and Sweden is one of 16 teams that have advanced to the playoffs. Through a win against South Korea (1-0) in the opening match, a tough loss in the final in the final seconds against now eliminated Germany (1-2) and a solid win against Mexico in the last match (3-0) Sweden won its group and is now facing Switzerland in the Round of 16. If Janne Andersson’s men advances to the quarterfinal they will face the winner between Colombia and England. In this post you will find all matches with dates and comments. At the bottom of the post is the playoff tree.
Saturday, June 30th:
France – Argentina
Comment: Two teams with much left to prove. Argentina and Messi chase their first gold after several losses in Copa de America and the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Uruguay – Portugal
Comment: Uruguay that has not been tested so far in the tournament meets Cristiano Ronaldo who can decide big matches on his own.
Sunday, July 1:
Spain – Russia
Comment: Russia proceeded through a simple group where they lost clearly against the single opponent of rank (Uruguay). Spain is not as good as previous years, but they should win this meeting.
Croatia – Denmark
Comment: It is always fun to follow our red-white Scandinavian neighbors in the World Cup. However, Croatia played solid in the group stage and could be too tough for the Danes.
Monday, July 2:
Brazil – Mexico
Comment: Mexico advanced to the playoffs due to the fact that South Korea beat Germany (!) 2-0 in the final group stage round. Brazil should win this.
Belgium – Japan
Comment: Japan is the only Asian team in the playoffs. They face Belgium who should win this match.
Tuesday, July 3:
Sweden – Switzerland
Comment: Switzerland has not lost a match for a long time and are slightly favorites against a disciplined Swedish team who got their scoring going in the last game of the group stage. This can go either way. We hope for a warm Swedish World Cup summer!
Colombia – England
Comment: England yawned themselves through the group stage. Chances are, they efforts are not enough against more qualified opponents.
Växjö Lakers won the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) 2018 after defeating Skellefteå AIK in the final series with a crushing 4-0 streak (7-0, 4-0, 4-1 and 5-0).
Växjö Lakers – Skellefteå AIK
Comment: A true heavyweight battle for the 2018 SHL trophy!
Växjö – Malmö
Comment: Malmö managed to outmaneuver Frölunda in the quarterfinals through a solid defensive game. Can they keep it up against Växjö’s major offensive force?
Linköping – Skellefteå AIK
Comment: Linköping has been a strong contender for the overall win through most of the 21st century, but never managed to go all the way. Skellefteå is a solid team from the north with plenty of playoff experience, and a winning tradition.
Växjö – Brynäs
Djurgården – Linköping
Comment: Växjö and Djurgården will be regarded as favourites no matter which team they are up against in the play offs. We do think Djurgården wants to avoid Luleå though, because of the rivalry between the capital, Stockholm (Djurgården) and the north (Luleå).
Frölunda – Malmö
Comment: Two of Sweden’s biggest cities are heads up in this meeting.
Färjestad – Skellefteå AIK
Comment: South vs North between two traditionally strong teams.
Luleå HF – Brynäs IF
Comment: A classic matchup between two teams from the north!
Linköping – HV71
Comment: Two normally strong teams that are having a rough season.
(odds no longer available, Israel won the 2018 Eurovision song contest through Netta Barzilai who performed the song “Toy”).
May 2, the 2018 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest music competition is hosted in Portugal. In this entry you will find outright winner odds for 15 countries in the competition. Click on the odds box from Paf to place a bet (search for “Eurovision” on their odds page to find the correct section). Israel are favorites, while Sweden’s contribution, Benjamin Ingrosso’s “Dance you off” is ranked four and played to 9 times the stake. Last time Sweden won the Eurovision was in 2015 when Måns Zelmerlöw participated with the song “Heroes”.
This year’s Eurovision is taking place in Portugal, which made its first win ever in 2017. Thus they broke the longest segeless suite in the competition’s history: 53 years! The winner was Salvador Sobral with his “Amar Pelos Dois” (eng: Loving For Both of Us). Looking back on historical results since 1956, Ireland has won the competition most times, 7. Their last win was as far back as 1996 though. Sweden is second in total wins with 6 victories. If we take a look at the last positions, Nordic countries are in the top there: Norway has 11 last places in Eurovision, followed by Finland with 9. Sweden has finished last two times: 1963 (Monica Zetterlund: “En gång i Stockholm”) and 1977 (Forbes: “Beatles”).
Country, number, year
Ireland, 7, 1970, 1980, 1987, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996
Sweden, 6, 1974, 1984, 1991, 1999, 2012, 2015
United Kingdom, 5, 1967, 1969, 1976, 1981, 1997
Luxembourg, 5, 1961, 1965, 1972, 1973, 1983
France, 5, 1958, 1960, 1962, 1969, 1977
It is noteworthy that the French-speaking countries dominated the Eurovision Song Contest’s young years. Abba’s Waterloo from 1974 is considered one of the best contributions of Eurovision throughout the ages (see, for example, this Youtube video). In 1984, Herrey’s succeeded in winning with a contribution in the Swedish language: “Diggi-Loo, Diggi-Ley”. After that, we had to wait until 1991 when Carola won with “Fångad av en Stormvind”. Carola also participated in the 1983 Eurovision with the song “Främling”. The Swedish Eurovision Millennium / Century ended in the best possible way with a win for Charlotte Nilsson’s “Take Me To Your Heaven”.
Last year, Portugal beat Sweden’s record in a number of 12-points when the songs were judged: Portugal got 30 as opposed to Sweden (Loreen, “Euphoria”, 2012) 18.
With this we hope for further Swedish successes in the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest!
The 2018 IIHF World Junior Ice Hockey Champions are hosted in Buffalo, United States, December 26 2017 – January 5 2018. In this post you find the groups, Team Sweden’s games and dates for playoffs. 10 teams are divided into 2 groups where four teams from every group advances to the quarterfinals. In 2017, Team USA won the gold after defeating Canada in the final game. Russia won the bronze game against Sweden.
Group A:
United States (current champions)
Canada
Denmark
Slovakia
Finland
Prediction: Team USA and Canada will fight over the group win. They will face each other on December 29 in an outdoor game!
Group B:
Russia
Sweden
Czech Republic
Switzerland
Belarus
Prediction: Russia and Sweden are facing each other on New Years Eve 2017. That game will probably decide what team wins group B. Sweden has been undefeated in the group phase the last 10(!) years in the World Juniors.
December 26: Belarus – Sweden
December 28: Sweden – Czech Republic
December 30: Sweden – Switzerland
December 31: Russia – Sweden
January 2: Quarterfinals
January 4: Semifinals
January 5: Bronze game and final game
The men’s Olympic Hockey tournament in PyeongChang, South Korea 2018 follows a format of three groups with four teams in each group. The group winners and the best placed runner-up will advance to the quarter finals, while the other two runner-ups will play a qualification game for the last spot in the play-offs. In this post you will find the groups, dates for playoffs and Team Sweden’s schedule. In Sochi 2014, Sweden lost the final game against Team Canada. Finland won the bronze medal against Team USA.
Group A:
Canada (current champions)
Czech Republic
Switzerland
South Korea
Prediction: Although NHL-players aren’t participating in the 2018 Olympic Hockey Tournament, Canada will still have a strong team with players from the European leagues. We believe they will have a good chance of winning group A, but we would also like to issue a warning for Switzerland that is usually a strong team in the Olympics.
Group B:
Russia
United States
Slovakia
Slovenia
Prediction: Russia has a strong core of players from the KHL and they are predicted by many to go all the way in this tournament. We agree. No miracle on ice for Team USA this year.
Group C:
Sweden
Finland
Norway
Germany
Prediction: Three Nordic teams and Germany are fighting for the win in this group. Although Sweden and Finland might be favourites, nothing is certain in this context. Norway will do anything to beat their Nordic rivals, and Germany has a strong team with players from their domestic league. We think Sweden will come out on top from this group though.
February 15: Norway – Sweden
February 16: Sweden – Germany
February 18: Sweden – Finland
February 20: Qualification for quarterfinals
February 21: Quarterfinals
February 23: Semifinals
February 24: Bronze game
February 25: Final game
The 2018 Olympic games are hosted in PyeongChang, South Korea between February 9-25. As always, we look forward to exciting competitions in our favourite winter sports!
The group stage of the Hockey World Championship 2017 is over and a total of eight teams have advanced to the playoffs. The following teams will face each other in the quarter finals on Thursday May 18:
Switzerland – Sweden
A NHL-reinforced Three Crowns advanced to the playoffs without any major issues. On the other hand, Sweden lost to both Russia and the United States, which were the biggest competitors in the group. Sweden has played a bit sloppy and has suffered from many unnecessary penalties. However, the years when Sweden has won the gold, they have usually done so after a poor group stage, followed by excellent playoffs. Switzerland grabbed a spot in the playoffs after some mixed achievements, an overtime win over Canada perhaps being the biggest one. Sweden has good experiences of playing Switzerland in the playoffs; the gold years 1998 and 2013, and the Olympic Games in Torino 2006. The winner faces the United States or Finland in the semifinal.
Canada – Germany
One of the host nations, Germany, advanced to the playoffs. The World Championships are played in Cologne and Paris. Unfortunately, France did not succeed in advancing from the group stage this year, despite a convincing win against Finland. Canada won its group comfortably and is one of the favorites of the gold, together with Russia and Sweden. The winner faces Russia or the Czech Republic.
Russia – Czech Republic
Russia finished second in the group after losing against the United States in the last match. In the quarterfinals, the Czech Republic is difficult to assess: they have many reinforcements from the NHL but have not more than they should in the group stage. The winner faces Canada or Germany.
USA – Finland
Finland is the disappointment of the tournament so far, including a 1-5 (!) loss against France. The lions barely made it to the quarterfinals and here they will face USA who has played an convincing game so far, winning their group ahead of Russia and Sweden.On the other hand, Finland can play completely without pressure and expectations, so you never know. The winner faces Switzerland or Sweden.
We believe these teams will meet in the semifinals:
Sweden – USA
Russia – Canada
This year, the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships are hosted in Germany (Cologne) and France (Paris), May 5-21. 16 teams are divided into two groups. The top four teams from each group advances to the play offs. The worst placed team in each group are eliminated from next year’s tournament. In this post you will find groups and schedule.
Group A:
Russia
USA
Sweden
Slovakia
Germany
Latvia
Denmark
Italy
Comment: Russia, Sweden, and possible USA will fight for the top positions in group A. However, we will also keep an eye on the host nation Germany, as well as Slovakia and Denmark.
Group B:
Canada
Finland
Czech
Switzerland
Belarus
Norway
France
Slovenia
Comment: We look forward to the game between Finland and Canada. The Czech Republic and Switzerland could offer some resistance against those two teams. Will the host nation France be able to give any of the top teams a go?
May 5-16: Group stage
May 18: Quarter finals
May 20: Semi finals
May 21: Final and bronze game
Team Canada has won two straight World Championships in 2016 and 2016. Russia won 2014 and Sweden 2013. For the European teams much of the success is dependent on reinforcements from the National Hockey League. For Sweden, the interest from the transatlantic players has been sparse the latest years. Maybe the new coach Rikard Grönborg can change that. Maybe some players want to show what they are made of in the national team before the Olympic Games 2018. However, the participation of players from NHL in the Olympics is not secured due to issues between NHL and The international olympic committee. For Team Canada the success is more dependent on interest from the organization: No matter what teams are eliminated from NHL, Canada always has 10 times more players to choose from than most other countries. The latest years they have put teams on the ice that would make anyone star struck. Russia is the biggest competitor since they have many good players in their national league (KHL), given that they can make a collective team out of skilled individual players. We should never rule out the Finns either, even if they rarely go all the way.
Exactly as we did during the 2015-16 season, in this post we will list the Swedish players in the National Hockey League 2016-17. The list below is sorted by a) the number of Swedes in the team and b) alphabetically. At the top we find Carolina Hurricanes and Vancouver Canucks with 6 and 5 Swedish players. If we missed a player, feel free to contact us!
G = goalie, D = defender, LW/RW = left / right wing, C = center
Eddie Läck G
Victor Rask C
Joakim Nordström LW
Viktor Stålberg LW
Klas Dahlbeck D
Elias Lindholm C
Comment: It is a hurricane of Swedes!
Jacob Markström G
Daniel Sedin LW
Henrik Sedin C
Loui Eriksson LW
Alexander Edler D
Comment: A lot of Swedes in the Canucks, but the question is for how long the Sedin twins will continue?
Niklas Hjalmarsson D
Marcus Krüger C
Dennis Rasmussen C
Gustav Forsling D
Comment: Fun to see many Swedes in the modern dynasty Chicago!
Gustav Nyquist RW
Henrik Zetterberg LW
Jonathan Ericsson D
Niklas Kronwall D
Comment: Detroit “Blue Wings” are not so blue anymore, and will be even less so when veterans like Zetterberg and Kronwall decide to quit.
Jonas Gustavsson G
Adam Larsson D
Oscar Klefbom D
Anton Lander C
Comment: Less fun to see many Swedes in the low ranked Oilers…
Nashville Predators (4)
Mattias Ekholm D
Calle Järnkrok C
Filip Forsberg LW
Viktor Arvidsson LW
Comment: We have a couple of interesting names for the future in the Predators.
Alexander Steen LW
Patrik Berglund C
Magnus Pääjärvi LW
Carl Gunnarsson D
John Klingberg D
Johnny Oduya D
Patrik Nemeth D
Henrik Lundqvist G
Mika Zibanejad C
Jesper Fasth RW
Henrik Lundqvist G
Comment: Rangers is a favourite team among many Swedes thanks to king Henrik!
Nicklas Bäckström C
Andre Burakovsky LW
Marcus Johansson LW
Comment: Three exciting Swedish forwards in the team from the US capital!
Jakob Silfverberg RW
Jacob Larsson D
Robin Lehner G
Johan Larsson C
Mikael Backlund C
Nicklas Grossmann D
Alexander Wennberg C
William Karlsson C
Carl Söderberg C
Gabriel Landeskog LW
Comment: Captain Landeskog is rock solid in Peter Forsberg’s former team.
Jonas Brodin D
Christian Folin D
Patric Hörnqvist RW
Carl Hagelin LW
Comment: After Sidney Crosby’s recent concussion, these two gentlemen will have to show their worth during the 2016-17 season.
Victor Hedman D
Anton Strålman D
Comment: Two Swedish defenders that complete each other. World class!
Jhonas Enroth G
William Nylander C
Comment: William, son of Michael Nylander, is an important part of Toronto’s future, as well as for the Swedish national team Three Crowns. He also has a little brother (Alexander) that is drafted by Buffalo Sabres.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson D
Jacob Josefson C
Erik Karlsson D
Comment: The best offensive defender in the world?
Melker Karlsson C
Tobias Enström D
Christmas time means hockey time in Canada! 2016 is no exception when we once again look forward to watching the best juniors in the world take part in the Ice Hockey World Juniors 2016/17. Last year, Finland won the tournament after defeating Russia in the final. In this post we present the group and play offs schedule for this year’s tournament. The 2016/17 World Juniors starts December 26, 2016 and the final is played January 5, 2017.
Ten teams are divided into two groups from which the four best teams advances to the quarterfinals.
Group A:
Czech Republic
Denmark
Finland
Sweden
Switzerland
Comment: It is important to wn this group in order to avoid facing Canada, USA or Russia early in the playoffs. Although group A consists of overall strong teams, our bet is that the battle for the group win will stand between the Nordic rivals Sweden and Finland.
Group B:
Canada
USA
Russia
Slovakia
Latvia
Comment: Canada is always strong, especially at home on a smaller ice than in the European version of the tournament. However, there are no easy games in group B where every team has a chance to reach the playoffs. The teams want to place at least 1 or 2 in order to avoid facing Finland and Sweden in the quarterfinal.
January 2: Quarterfinals
January 4: Semifinals
January 5: Final (and bronze game)
As stated above, Canada has the advantage of the home crowd which makes a strong team even better. However, the margins in the World Juniors are always small and we know that USA, Russia, Sweden and Finland always are strong competitors for the gold. It will be interesting to see if Finland can build on the success last year where they won both the World Juniors and the U18 tournaments. Sweden has a new coach that yet has to be tested so it is hard to predict where the Three Crowns stands before the tournament has begun.
