Switzerland Captain Roman Josi warns against looking past Italy in Olympic qualifier

Switzerland faces a dangerous single-elimination matchup Tuesday when it takes on host Italy at Rho Arena in the Olympic qualifying playoff round. The fifth-seeded Swiss drew the 12th-seeded Italians in a game that carries enormous pressure despite the seeding difference.

Captain Roman Josi made it clear his team cannot afford to overlook the hosts, even after Italy suffered an 11-0 loss to Finland in its final preliminary game. The veteran defenseman knows one mistake sends Switzerland home empty-handed.

Switzerland is ready to give its all against Italy despite immense pressure

The Swiss finished 2-1-0-0 in Group A play after defeating Czechia 4-3 in overtime Sunday, a character-building victory that provided important lessons heading into the knockout stage. That win secured second place in the group and set up Tuesday's qualifier at the smaller, more intimate venue known as HC2 for the Olympics.

Josi emphasized the importance of winning the game in front of them before thinking about what comes next. If Switzerland advances, a quarterfinal matchup with Finland awaits, but the captain made it clear that's not where his team's attention belongs.

"You've got to win that game before you can think about anything else," Josi said. "And I think you saw Italy; they played great against Sweden and played really well against Slovakia. There were tight games."

The Swiss captain pointed out that Italy's preliminary round wasn't as disastrous as Saturday's blowout suggests. The Italians hung with Sweden in a 5-2 loss that was tied 2-2 early in the second period, then lost just 3-2 to Slovakia before the Finland debacle.

"I think every team would say that there's no easy game," Josi continued. "So yeah, our focus is on tomorrow. We've got to play our best tomorrow, and then what happens after we can look to."

Switzerland's overtime victory against Czechia on Sunday gave the team valuable experience in handling a high-stakes game with momentum swings. The back-and-forth contest saw both teams trade goals before the Swiss found a way to win.

"There were a lot of different challenges throughout the game," Josi said. "It was a high-stakes game; there was a lot on the line. They tied it up, we scored again, and they tied it up again. There were a lot of ups and downs, and at the end we found a way to win it, which is a great character win for our group."

The qualifier begins at 6:10 a.m. ET Tuesday at Rho Arena, where an electric crowd is expected as Swiss fans travel from across the nearby border to support their team against the hosts.


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