Finland Finally Shakes Sweden Curse at Olympics

1998 was a momentous year. Google was founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin. James Cameron’s Titanic was a global phenomenon and took home 11 Academy Awards. Backstreet Boys and NSYNC were the talk of the town.

That year also marked the last time that Finland beat Sweden, its fiercest rival and competitor, at an Olympics with National Hockey League players, when it took down the Three Lions 2-1. Finland would go on to take home the bronze medal. Sure, Finland has beaten Sweden at other Olympics without the world’s most prestigious players, but those victories just don’t strike the same chord. Everything feels heightened when it’s best on best, and the same can be said for Finland’s rivalry with Sweden.

Team Finland earned their first win over Team Sweden in Olympics with NHL players since 1998, the first Olympics that included NHL player participation. #MilanoCortina2026 #WinterOlympics #NHLStats: https://t.co/JB20BODz8O pic.twitter.com/aeoGtkR4Cf
— NHL Public Relations (@NHLPR) February 13, 2026

But 2026 appears to be a year in which Finland is attempting to turn over a new leaf. Following a disappointing and, frankly, disastrous loss to Slovakia on Feb. 11, the Finns bounced back with a 4-1 breakthrough over the Swedes on Feb. 13. Nikolas Matinpalo, Anton Lundell, Joel Armia and Mikko Rantanen all found the back of the net en route to the cathartic victory.

Since that last win in 1998, Finland and Sweden’s NHL players had met on Olympic ice three times, with the latter taking the cake each time. In 2006, Sweden narrowly edged out Finland in a 3-2 thriller to take home the gold medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics. Four years later, the story was the same, as Sweden blanked Finland 3-0 to continue the streak. In Sochi in 2014, Sweden once again won a thriller, this one by a 2-1 score in the quarterfinals at the 2014 Winter Olympics. Every game, the story was the same, but it was on Feb. 13, 2026, that Finland decided enough was enough.

It just goes to show that sometimes patience does pay off.

Finland-Sweden is the Best of International Hockey

Feb 15, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team Finland forward Mikko Rantanen (96) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal against Team Sweden goalie Filip Gustavsson (32) in the first period during a 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey game at the Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images | Eric Bolte-Imagn Images

“It’s so much fun always to play Sweden,” star Finnish forward Rantanen said. “… They’re a really good team, and the history goes back a really, really, really long way. It’s always exciting to play, even though they’re a really good team, so we’ve got to play well.”

Rantanen is speaking from experience. In last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off, Rantanen and his fellow Finnish teammates beat Sweden 4-3 in what was one of the most entertaining bouts of international hockey displayed in a long while. It was also a win that had to be liberating for Rantanen, as the 29-year-old superstar for the Dallas Stars vividly remembers Finland’s defeat and Sweden’s triumph in the gold medal match in 2006. He was just 9 years old, but Rantanen still recalls the heartbreak and anguish he and his family felt after the loss.

“I remember I was at home with my family watching it, probably wearing a Finnish jersey and being emotional after we lost,” Rantanen said.

It’s that devastation and anguish from a sporting result that underscore how potent the Finland-Sweden rivalry is. In many ways, the two countries’ disdain for one another on the ice showcases what is best about athletics and competition. All it takes is one glance at the atmosphere inside Milano Santaguilia Ice Hockey Arena during the game to recognize that fact. That crowd was raucous. Every hit, penalty and goal evoked an emotional response rarely seen at a sporting event — rare, of course, anywhere else other than a Finland-Sweden game. At that event, the adrenaline is always pumping at 100 percent.

Make sure you bookmark Breakaway On SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, recruiting coverage, and more!