Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship match.
USA U-20
This national team has scored 35 goals, which is the best result of the current World Junior Championship. Five players of the US national team are in the top ten best goalscorers of the tournament. The last championship saw the United States beating Finland 6:2 in a group stage match. Today, the United States seem to be obvious favourites again. There’s no one who can be equal to them.
Finland U-20
Finland started the tournament with two consecutive defeats (2:5 in the game versus Canada and 3:4 in the match against Germany). However, they beat Latvia (4:0) and Sweden (5:4 on shoot-out). Their quarter-final game versus Slovakia was complicated. Finland managed to win in overtime (4:3). The semi-final game brings an opponent of a very different level. The United States are too strong for Finland to beat them.
USA U-20 – Finland U-20 prediction
The United States are the only team to avoid losing during the current tournament. They beat Latvia (7:2) in the quarter-final game. They have strengths to meet Finland. This is the best version of the US ice hockey national team we’ve ever seen. I don’t believe that Finland can be a problem for them.
