In the third round of the Olympic selection, our team will face South Korea and Poland, the fourth opponent will be determined later
Ukrainian national hockey team in qualification Winter Olympics 2026 starts from the third round.
Two of our team’s three opponents in Group J are already known – national teams South Korea And Poland. Another opponent will be determined later, based on the results of Round 2, which will take place in mid-December 2023.
From the qualifying quartet, only one team will advance to the final round of Olympic qualification. The third round matches in Group J will be held in Sosnowiec, Poland, from February 8 to 11, 2024.
The final round is another group stage. Only the best teams in each quartet will qualify directly for the Olympic tournament in Milan, which will take place in February 2026.
It should be noted that teams from Russia and Belarus are also included in the number of participants. Moreover, the Russian team will go straight into Group C of the Olympic tournament, and the Belarusian team will go straight into one of the subgroups of the final round of selection. However, these teams are written in brackets and with the caveat that these teams will only be able to take part in the competition if the IIHF (International Hockey Federation) lifts the ban from them.
Let us remind you that back in February last year, the IIHF suspended Russian and Belarusian national teams and clubs from participating in competitions under its auspices due to the invasion of Russian troops in Ukraine. In October 2022, the federation left this indefinite ban in force for 2023, but at the same time retained the rating places for Russia and Belarus in their divisions at the time the ban was established.
In April of this year, the IIHF announced that the national teams of Russia and Belarus will not be allowed to participate in tournaments under its auspices while the war in Ukraine continues.
The Ukrainian national hockey team took part in the Olympic Games only once. In 2002, our team in Salt Lake City took 10th place.
The hockey tournament at the 2026 Olympics will be held from February 6 to 22, 2026 in Milan, Italy.
Source: Sportarena
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