United States opens 2026 world championship against Switzerland in Zurich
switzerland met the United States again on May 10, 2026, as Team USA opened the 2026 IIHF Men’s World Championship against the host nation in Zurich at 2:20 p.m. ET on NHL Network. The opener doubled as the start of the Americans’ title defense after last year’s 1-0 overtime win over Switzerland for gold.
Zurich opener against Switzerland
The matchup brought the same two teams back together just months after Tage Thompson scored the golden goal in Stockholm, Sweden, in the gold-medal game. This meeting was the 29th time the United States and Switzerland had faced each other in men’s worlds, with the Americans entering at 17-1-1-8-1 and having won four of the last five meetings.
Don Granato said ahead of the opener, “We’re excited to get going and know we’re facing an excellent Swiss team” and “It’s been fun to see how our group has come together in a short period of time and we look forward to the challenge ahead.”
Team USA roster backbone
Justin Faulk served as captain, with Ryan Lindgren and Mathieu Olivier as alternate captains. Faulk was playing in his fourth IIHF Men’s World Championship and carried two bronze medals in the event, while also having been part of the 2014 U.S. Olympic Men’s Ice Hockey Team.
The roster also included three goaltenders: Joseph Woll, Devin Cooley and Drew Commesso. Woll was with the Toronto Maple Leafs and had not been part of a U.S. national team since helping Team USA earn bronze in the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship, Cooley of the Calgary Flames was making his debut in an IIHF world championship, and Commesso of the Chicago Blackhawks organization last played for Team USA at the 2023 IIHF Men’s World Championship.
Germany win before Zurich
Team USA arrived in Zurich after one pre-tournament game, a 5-2 win over Germany in Mannheim, Germany, on Sunday, May 10, 2026. The roster carried 12 first or second-round NHL Draft picks and more than 5,000 games of NHL experience, giving Granato a group that had already shown it could settle quickly before the tournament opener.
The immediate question for Team USA was how that experience would translate against Switzerland in the first game that counted. Zurich gave the United States a fast rematch with the host nation, and the result set the opening tone for a tournament in which the Americans were defending the title they won a year earlier.
