Poland vs Latvia Prediction: Don't expect a lot of pucks

Prediction for the World Championship 2024 match between the Poland vs Latvia which will take place on May 11. Who will turn out to be stronger? Check the team conditions! Several betting options are available.

The Polish national team is preparing for its first World Cup in the strongest division since 2002. It was then that the Red and Whites earned relegation, after which they could not return, but now they have managed to cope with this task. In 2023, they finished second at the planetary championship in the second world group, and therefore will now play in the elite. Over the last month, the Poles have played eight friendlies. Everything started very well for them, they beat Hungary twice - 5:2 and 6:2, but in the next six games there were only defeats. Of course, the Eagles are the main outsiders of Group B at the 2024 World Cup, but the very fact of participation in such a high-profile competition is already a success for them.

The Latvian national team is by no means the most status national team in world hockey. They have confirmed this with their results, as they have failed to win any awards at the World Championships. A series of bad years was interrupted at their home World Cup-2023, where they not without problems, but still reached the playoffs, after which they sensationally knocked out Sweden in the quarter-finals - 1:3, lost in a hard-fought battle to Canada in the semifinals - 2:4, and then did not give up and won the bronze medals, beating the USA in the game for third place - 4:3. Of course, after such a great success Harijs Vitolinsh continued to work with the national team, but in the last six friendlies before the 2024 World Cup they beat only Norway 8:0, and lost five more times.

The Latvian national team is the bronze medallist of the last World Championship, which in itself speaks about its level of skill and accumulated experience. It will be problematic for the team to repeat this success, as we see more star hockey players at the 2024 World Cup than the year before, but all this does not apply to the modest Polish national team, which will play in an elite world group for the first time in two decades. Obviously, it will take time for the Poles to get used to such solid resistance from their more high-profile opponents, and that's why they will have a tough time against Harijs Vitolins' squad in their opening game.