Slovakia's national hockey team faces a decisive match of the 2026 World Championship against Czechia in Fribourg on Saturday, May 23. After four consecutive wins — the best start by the Slovaks to a tournament in the last 23 years — the national team has the chance to definitively secure its advance to the quarterfinals. The game will start at 4:20 p.m. and offers a federal derby with special significance for many players who play in the Czech league environment. ta3.com ↗ STVR (Spravy) ↗
Head coach Vladimír Országh announced one change in the lineup and named thirteen forwards and seven defensemen for the match. The pre-game skate-around indicated that goaltender Eugen Rabčan and defenseman Jakub Meliško will not play in Saturday's game. A second dilemma remains the choice between goaltenders Samuel Hlavaj and Adam Gajan, which Országh had not yet revealed shortly before the match. The coach expects an intense performance in the form of a high number of Czech shots on the Slovak goal. hnonline.sk ↗ sport.sk ↗
The tournament is entering its second phase, with the Slovakia–Czechia match forming one of its main programming pillars. Players from both teams know each other from their domestic leagues, which adds extra intensity to the meeting as a rivalry-charged federal derby. Success in this match would have a decisive impact on the Slovak national team's final placement in the group and its further path through the tournament. STVR (Spravy) ↗ mediaklik.sk ↗
Slovakia to face Czechia in a key match at the Ice Hockey World Championship in Fribourg
This summary was generated by artificial intelligence. It may contain inaccuracies. Please verify information in the original sources below.
Sources (6)
Országh urobil jednu zmenu: Poznáme zostavu Slovenska na derby proti Česku
STVR (Spravy)
| 15:12 23.05.
VIDEO Pozrite si highlighty zo zápasu Dánsko - Slovinsko na MS v hokeji 2026
sport.sk
| 15:20 23.05.
Federálne derby je tu. Slováci proti Česku zabojujú o definitívny postup do štvrťfinále MS
ta3.com
| 15:27 23.05.
Rozkorčuľovanie slovenských hokejistov na MS naznačilo zmenu v zostave
teraz.sk
| 12:26 23.05.
Sľubu sa v tomto termíne nedočkáme: Markíza mení vysielanie, fanúšikovia zostanú bez novej epizódy
mediaklik.sk
| 09:07 23.05.
Derby s Českom? Andrej Kollár: Žartovali sme, že sa spolu nebavíme
sport.sk
| 08:14 23.05.
🔥 You might also like
📰
Sports
Slovakia lost to Sweden 2:4 and was eliminated from the 2026 Ice Hockey World Championship
Slovak hockey players await the most important match of the World Championship in Switzerland. In Tuesday's duel against Sweden they need...
📰
Sports
Slovaks lost to Canada, but progression to the quarterfinals remains in their own hands
Slovak hockey players suffered their first defeat at the 2026 World Championship in Switzerland, falling to Canada after beating Denmark.
Sports
Slovak national ice hockey team advances to the 2026 World Championship in Switzerland without a loss, winning the fourth match against Denmark convincingly 5:1
Slovak hockey players are successfully continuing at the 2026 World Championship in Switzerland. After a 2:1 win over Norway in the opening match and a convinci …
© HotInfo
Geographic locations
From our newsroom original
All →
Amodei calls for slowing AI development, Trump dismisses the risks
Orbán filed a criminal complaint against Szijjártó over flights
Milan Kováč becomes new member of the National Council of the Slovak Republic
Hungary to open state security files, no one voted against. First batch on October 20 will show network records, not agent reports
Telenor allegedly gave the junta customer data, police say. It faces accusations of possible complicity in crimes against humanity
France wants Usmanov off the sanctions list in exchange for detainees. The EU extended the deadline by only seven days, and the six-month compromise fell through too
What Czechia is writing about: Babiš and Pavel finally met at the Castle, Macinka was absent. Brussels revealed family ties in Agrofert's trust fund
The website of Norway's parliament went down for 80 minutes. It was inaccessible from most of the world for nearly four hours after Oslo reported a return to normal
