Switzerland Will Destroy Norway For Curling Bronze

Norway vs. Switzerland, 1:05 ET

It seems like every four years, people make the same joke about how they have never heard of curling or never watched it, but are suddenly super invested. That's the magic of the Olympics, I suppose. I never would go out of my way to watch skiing, snowboarding, figure skating or many other talented Olympians do their thing, but the Winter Olympics make it cool. I really don't think any sport gets more of an increase in love during the Winter Olympics than curling does, and today we get the Bronze Medal Game between Norway and Switzerland.

At the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano-Cortina, Italy, Norway’s men’s curling team had a strong tournament: after a solid round-robin that included a key 8–6 win over Canada to secure a semifinal spot — their first Olympic knockout berth in 16 years — they battled Canada again in the semis but narrowly lost 5–4 in an extra end, ending their gold medal hopes. Now they come into today's game looking to secure a bronze medal. This, obviously, is already a successful campaign for them in curling. However, if they can take it a step further and beat a team that has already beaten them, it might go a long way. 

[US, Mexico & Canada customers only] Feb 19, 2026; Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy; Bendik Ramsfjell of Norway, Martin Sesaker of Norway and Gaute Nepstad of Norway in action during their match against Canada  in a men's curling semifinal during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Lorenzini/Reuters via Imagn Images

Switzerland’s men’s curling team put together a dominant campaign in the round-robin, winning all nine of their matches — one of the few Olympic teams ever to go undefeated in that phase, including a 6-5 extra-end win over Great Britain and a 9-5 victory vs. Italy that sealed their perfect record. Their unbeaten run made them a favorite heading into the knockout rounds, but in the semifinal, they were then defeated 8-5 by Great Britain in a tight contest, snapping their perfect streak and ending their hopes of competing for gold. It may be a bit of a crushing blow after their success, but they need to regain their focus if they plan to win here. 

This kind of feels like a team that is happy to be here (Norway) against a team that is probably annoyed that they are there (Switzerland). For most of the curling competitions, the Swiss appeared to be the best team. Sometimes that doesn't work out, and other times you coast to the finish line. They did everything right in the knockout round. The loss to Britain will sting, but I think it will hurt worse losing any medal altogether. They will need to regroup here, but I think they can. They did face Norway already in the round-robin phase and crushed them 10-4. I didn't know this was a thing, but there are actual rankings of curling teams outside of the Olympics and the main playerfor Switzerland is ranked on the #2 team in the world while the main guy for Norway is on the #16 team. Give me the Swiss to win this and win with ease, covering the -2.5. 

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