Great Britain return to action this evening with a match-up against Hungary in the 2026 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in Switzerland.
The two sides go head-to-head at the Swiss Life Arena in Zurich at 20:20 (19:20 BST) in a match that could decide who stays up to participate in the 2027 tournament in Germany.
GB and Hungary have each lost their opening two games of the tournament against higher-ranked teams.
Pete Russell’s side were beaten 4-2 by Austria on Saturday before losing 5-1 to number one seeds USA on Sunday – a scoreline which did not represent the spirited and battling performance.
Hungary were beaten 4-1 by Finland in their opening game on Saturday and then lost 4-2 to Austria on Sunday, so both sides will go into tonight on the back of a rest day.
Team News
Josh Tetlow was injured in the opening minutes of Saturday’s game against Austria. He passed a fitness test on Sunday but wasn’t risked for the game against USA, so the defenceman could come back into the line-up tonight.
Focus on Hungary (info from iihf.com)
Last year’s 14th-place finish marked the first time since the 1930s that Hungary has avoided relegation immediately after being promoted. The Hungarians also played in the top division in 2009, 2016, and 2023.
Forward Janos Hari will look to build on his successful tournament last year that saw him post a team-high five points.
One name to look out for is forward Doman Szongoth who is coming into the tournament on the back of a good junior season in Finland. The 17-year-old has already represented Hungary Under-20s and Under-18s.
Previous Meetings
The two sides have met 26 times in major international competitions with GB winning 11 times, Hungary 14 and there was one tie back in 1991.
The most famous meeting was the last time the two sides met in a World Championship back in 2018 in the Division IA tournament in Budapest.
GB needed a point to secure promotion back to the top division for the first time since 1994 and we trailing 2-0 after goals by Christopher Bodo and Csanad Erdely.
Robert Dowd spun on the spot and fired the puck through traffic on a rebound to reduce the arrears with just over nine minutes remaining.
Ben Bowns saved his second penalty shot of the tournament as he denied Janos Hari and it proved a decisive turning point.
With 15 seconds remaining, Robert Farmer wriggled free and his low shot slid under Adam Vay to secure the point needed for promotion and the gold medal too!
GB went on to win the penalty shootout 2-1 with goals from Farmer and Ben O’Connor to crown a memorable night.
Live Coverage and Updates
The match can be watched on iihf.tv with individual game purchases and tournament passes available. Click here to buy and for more information.
There’ll be updates throughout the game on the Great Britain X account which can be followed here.
World Championship: Group A in Zurich
Saturday 16th May: Great Britain 2-5 Austria
Sunday 17th May: Great Britain 1-5 USA
Tuesday 19th May: Hungary v Great Britain 20:20 (19:20 BST)
Thursday 21st May: Switzerland v Great Britain 20:20 (19:20 BST)
Friday 22nd May: Finland v Great Britain 20:20 (19:20 BST)
Sunday 24th May: Great Britain v Latvia 16:20 (15:20 BST)
Monday 25th May: Germany v Great Britain 20:20 (19:20 BST)