The United States has a dominant record against Latvia in their all-time series, with an 11-1-1-3-1 advantage. Their first meeting was in 1938 and their most recent matchup was in the bronze medal game last year, which resulted in a national holiday being declared in the country.
On Sunday, both teams played against Kazakhstan and Slovakia, respectively. The United States defeated Kazakhstan 10-1 while Latvia earned a hard-fought 2-1 shootout victory over Slovakia. As a result of these victories, Team USA has secured a spot in the quarterfinals of the men’s world championship for the 13th consecutive year.
Regardless of how they perform in their upcoming game against Sweden, Team USA is already guaranteed to advance to the quarterfinals. However, Latvia still has an opportunity to qualify if they defeat the United States and Sweden wins against Slovakia.
With three consecutive wins, Team USA is performing well in the world championship and holds a 4-0-1-1 record, placing them second in Group B. On the other hand, Latvia stands at 1-3-0-2 and is currently fifth in their group.
