Canada vs Finland Preview & Prediction | 2026 World Junior Ice Hockey Championship | Third Place Match

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After being surprisingly beaten in the semi-finals, Canada now face Finland for the right to finish in third-place.

Kick-off date/time:

How to watch on TV: UK – Not televised / USA – NHL Network / Canada – TSN/RDS

How to watch online: UK – Cannot be streamed / USA – NHL Network via subscriptions for fuboTV, DirectTV, SlingTV or ESPN+ / Canada – TSN streaming platforms

Canada vs Finland prediction

The semi-finals saw Canada fail to do what they did in the group stage and beat Czechia. Despite their offence continuing to shine, the defence failed to back them up and this led to Czechia winning 4-6. It caps another disappointing tournament for the Canadians, who were knocked out in the quarter-finals last year and would’ve expected to win it all with the quality at their disposal.

Finland have been arguably the story of the knockout stage, beating USA in the last eight before taking Sweden to a shootout in the semi-finals. It was an agonising way to lose, but no one can dispute the fight and resolve shown by this Finnish team over these past few days. Whilst Canada overcame Finland 7-4 in the group stage, the likelihood is that the latter will be more motivated by the prospect of finishing in third-place heading into this match. It’s easy to imagine the Canadian players having their minds elsewhere at this point and backing Finland should be seriously considered.

Canada vs Finland tip: Finland to win