What Russia has shown

The Olympic tournament is shaping up for the Russian team in such a way that, in fact, the team will play the first match against a serious opponent comparable in terms of level only in the semifinals. Without exception, all previous meetings were difficult for the Russians. But neither the Swiss, nor the Danes, nor the Czechs can be put on a par with Russia.

Someone may object about the Czech Republic - they say, a strong team. But such a person lives exclusively in the past. If the national team of this country does not win a World Cup medal this spring, it will not be able to win an award in a major tournament for ten years. For the same period, the Swiss have two silver medals. And at the current Olympics, the same Swiss knocked out the Czechs in the 1/8 finals.

Do not forget that the match with the Czech Republic did not decide anything for the Russians, so it cannot be considered as a serious test. The teams threw 11 goals at each other. And Russia lost 5:6.

The best thing about the game of the Russians is the facts

Ninth place in the implementation of the majority. Behind only China, Germany and Slovakia;

Worst shorthand record;

Third place in the number of penalty minutes (53);

Only two Russians are among the top 30 players in the tournament in terms of points scored and goals scored.

The first thing that catches your eye is a very weak game in attack. If we take out the “friendly” game with the Czech Republic, then in three matches Russia scored six goals against far from the strongest opponents. Of these, the Swiss scored an own goal. One flew into the Danish gates at a time when they were empty and after a rebound. Two more were thrown by defenders with long-range shots. Another goal was scored from a rebound. Total - not a single goal after combinations.

As statistics show, the effectiveness of the actions of special brigades in Russia is practically equal to zero. And these are the key components of hockey.

Therefore, it is not surprising that the team fights off Denmark and even the head of Russian hockey, Vladislav Tretyak, speaks of a “valid” game until the last minutes.

How Russia played at the Olympics with Sweden

1994. Russia - Sweden - 3:4. Semi-final;

2006. Sweden - Russia - 0:5. Group.

What Sweden looked like

The Swedes, unlike Russia, played two matches with contenders for gold - with the Finns and Canadians.

In the group with Finland, the Swedes led 3:0 before the third period, but eventually lost in overtime 3:4. Here one of the minuses of the Swedes is revealed - psychological instability, problems with character. As long as everything goes according to plan, they are doing great. But as soon as there are difficulties in the game, when, for example, as with the Finns, the team loses a comfortable advantage, or finds itself in the role of a losing side, the Swedes can fall apart.

The quarter-final with the Canadians, on the contrary, was held in a favorable vein for the Swedes - a difficult, viscous game and 0-0 after the first 50 minutes and a final 2-0 victory with a second goal into an empty net.

The Swedes do not show anything outstanding at the Olympics. It is no coincidence that they were not ranked among the main contenders for medals, singling out Russia, Finland and Canada. But the Scandinavians are better than the Russians in terms of the main statistical indicators - playing in unequal lineups, discipline, the number of goals scored 12-11 (the number of goals conceded is equal - seven each). And now, especially considering not the most successful game of Russia, at least they do not seem to be outsiders of the semi-finals.

Who will reach the final

The chances are about equal. Russia before all matches of the tournament, except for the first, had an advantage over rivals in recovery time. The same alignment before the semi-finals - the Russians started the quarter-final game on Wednesday at 9 am, the Swedes - at 16:40.

According to world champion Alexander Semak, the Russian team will have a hard time. “Our hard to overcome the dense defense. The Swedes can choose the “Finnish” tactics and play rollback, wait for mistakes and counterattacks, ”he told RBC Sport.

In the semi-finals, a lot will depend on who opens the scoring. If the Russians do this, the Swedes, as already mentioned, may get nervous. If, on the contrary, the opponent scores the first goal, then the game can completely go under his control. And the Swedes know how to act on the score very well.

The Scandinavians are distinguished by cool skating, good positional defensive and attacking actions. Swedes' hockey can be called "rubber", so tightly they sometimes knit opponents hand and foot. And given Russia's problems with the attack, the fears of the head of the FHR Vladislav Tretiak for the result of the game are quite understandable.

“The Scandinavians have a very trained, disciplined team that knows how to play strictly in defense and attack creatively. It is obvious to me that in order to succeed in the semi-finals, it is imperative to impose high speeds on the opponent, because at an average pace, the Swedes make almost no mistakes. It will also require perfect discipline with a minimum of deletions. And the inclusion of defenders in the attack, since Sweden very tightly closes the space in front of its goal, ”said the three-time Olympic champion.

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