2021 World Championship. Great Britain - Russia

The senior Russian national team will face Great Britain in the second match of the 2021 IIHF World Championship in Riga, Latvia.

Yesterday, our players edged past the Czech Republic in a thriller, earning a dramatic 4:3 victory with Mikhail Grigorenko scoring the winning goal with a mere 19 seconds remaining in the third period. Anton Burdasov, Artyom Shvets-Rogovoi and Alexander Barabanov had scored the opening three Russian goals, while solid goalkeeper Alexander Samonov stopped 22 of the 25 Czech shots which he faced.

This will be Great Britain's maiden game at this year's competition.

Russia, the Czech Republic, Belarus, Slovakia, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland and Great Britain are all competing in Group A together. Group B consists of Germany, Latvia, Canada, Finland, Norway, Kazakhstan, the USA and Italy.

"It's impossible to play perfectly in the first match of the World Championship, everyone needs time in which to settle," stated Russian head coach Valeri Bragin after defeating the Czechs. "Yes, both teams made mistakes, but overall we played well and achieved the desired result. It's great that our first game was against such a strong opponent. Alexander Samonov? He did indeed concede three goals, but he made the big saves at the decisive moments."

Puck-drop is scheduled for 16:15 Moscow time. Channel One will provide a live television broadcast in Russia.