The United States are tipped to cover as they advance to the gold medal game.
Slovakia steamrollered Germany in the quarter-finals, but this United States unit is a serious step up in quality.
The Americans boast the best goalie in the tournament and have more than enough firepower to put the Slovakians to the sword.
Key Numbers – 5-In-A-Row For USA?
- United States have won all 4 of their games
- United States have out-scored the opposition 18-6 in the tournament so far
- The Over has cashed in 3 of the United States’ 4 games
- The Over has hit in each of Slovakia’s previous 2 games
USA Lead Recent Head-To-Head; Slovakia Won Last Meeting
- United States lead the series 13-11-1 since 2004
- Slovakia won 5-4 in overtime when the two teams last met in May 2024
United States Unbeaten Through 4 Games
The United States go into this semi-final clash having maintained their perfect record with their fourth straight victory in the quarter-finals.
The USA came into the competition as one of the favourites to go all the way and lived up to that billing as they negotiated the group stage with ease.
They opened the tournament with a 5-1 blowout of Latvia, and backed that up by downing a stubborn Denmark team 6-3.
The United States then concluded a perfect group campaign with another one-sided victory, as they downed Germany 5-1 to wrap up their quarter-final berth.
The USA did not have it all their own way in their first knockout game though, as they needed overtime to see off Sweden, 2-1.
They surrendered a one-goal lead in the third period as the Swedes forced the extra period, but the Americans rallied in the additional time as Quinn Hughes’ goal settled matters.
3 Wins In 4 Games For Slovakia
Slovakia have won three of their four games in the tournament so far, pulling off a couple of upsets along the way.
The Slovakians were expected to make a losing start as they were paired with fellow semi-finalists Finland, but instead they produced the first shock of the competition.
They did it in style too, as they ran out 4-1 winners against Finland, and they were able to back that up.
Slovakia improved to 2-0 with a victory over host nation Italy, but this was a far less impressive effort as they scraped a 3-2 win.
The Slovakians then saw their perfect start finally come to an end in the group stage finale, as they were beaten 5-3 by Sweden.
They responded to that defeat in spectacular fashion though, as they blew out Germany 6-2 despite going into that quarter-final clash as an underdog.