Predictions and odds for Great Britain's performance at the 2022 Hockey World Championship

Great Britain have avoided last place in their group in the last two World Cups. Will Peter Russell's side manage to do well again? We predict that the British will continue to have defensive problems.

The British national hockey team is having its best time in recent history. From 1935 to 1938, they never left a world championship without a medal, but that was a long time ago, and these days they haven't featured in the strongest division at the World Championships from 1995 to 2018. The British did qualify for the 2019 World Cup, but they beat France 4-3 in a decisive battle of the group-stage underdogs to retain their place in the top flight.

The British did not look the whipping boys of the 2021 World Cup and put up a decent fight every time, with their young forward Liam Kirk even featuring in the top-three goalscorers at the group stage. The British first took points from Denmark, losing in overtime 2-3, before beating Belarus 4-3, once again finishing a close second in their group. A tremendous success for a national team that had not qualified for the elite for more than two decades.

Great Britain didn't qualify for Beijing, finishing in the third qualifying round. Before the 2022 World Cup, Peter Russell's charges also had problems, as they played a total of four friendlies in which they lost twice to the Italians - 1:3 and 0:3, and twice lost to the Danes - 0:2 and 0:8. Four defeats in a row by a combined score of 1:16 suggest that the British will have problems in Finland.

Three or four years ago, the United Kingdom were an exotic team for the Ice Hockey World Cup, but now they have signed up for the tournament for a third straight year. Russell's men may surprise the hockey community again with their performance, but there's little sign of that. The British lost all four friendlies before the 2022 World Cup, losing four times by a combined total of 1-16. They will be up against some formidable opponents in the group stage of the 2022 World Cup, so a bet on their Total Under 1.5 points for 1.55 is in order.

In friendlies before the start of the 2022 World Cup, the main problem of the national team of Great Britain was the attack, having scored only one puck in four meetings, but in the tournament itself, the main concern will be in the defense. The United Kingdom will be joined in the group by Finland, the USA, Sweden, and the Czech Republic, who will certainly cause problems for Peter Russell's defensive formations. Of course, the British will struggle in some games, but they will also be unable to avoid a collapse, so a bet on the British Total Over 33.5 goals conceded is worth looking at 1.85.

At the World Cup in Riga, Great Britain scored a total of 13 goals, and the top scorer was Liam Kirk, who put up 9 points (7 goals + 2 assists) in seven games played and became the third goalscorer and top marksman in the group stage at the 2021 World Cup. This youngster has been involved in 69% of his team's goals. He will not be at the 2022 World Cup, posing a threat to their attacking options. The British have only scored one goal (0.25 goals per game on average) in their four friendlies, so Total Under 9.5 pucks for 1.85 would seem ideal.

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