Russia and US Ice Hockey Teams to Play a Friendly Match in Moscow on July 1

Ice hockey teams from Russia and the United States will face off in a friendly match on July 1 at the Luzhniki Olympic Complex in Moscow. The match is being organized with the support of the two countries' chambers of commerce as part of a cultural dialogue and will be open to a limited number of spectators.

Scraper SystemJune 25, 2026, 03:24 PM

Russia and US Ice Hockey Teams to Play a Friendly Match in Moscow on July 1

Preparations are complete for a rare friendly ice hockey meeting between Russia and the United States. Representative teams from the two countries will face off in a special match in Moscow on July 1.

According to reports in the Russian press, the details of the match were finalized during a session titled "Russia - USA: Dialogue of Cultures" held at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. Robert Agee, President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia, shared information about the organization of the match in his speech at the forum.

Match Venue and Time

The match will begin at 4:00 PM Moscow time. The venue chosen to host the competition is the Crystal Ice Palace, part of the Luzhniki Olympic Complex. The organizers announced that spectator attendance will be limited and no tickets will be sold.

Russia's Squad and Stars

The team representing Russia, known as the "Red Machine," will be captained by legendary defenseman Vyacheslav Fetisov, a two-time Olympic champion and three-time Stanley Cup winner. The team's head coach will be Alexander Yakushev, who holds two Olympic gold medals.

The roster is expected to include Russian stars who play in the National Hockey League (NHL). Forwards Artemi Panarin and Kirill Marchenko, goaltender Igor Shesterkin, defenseman Alexander Romanov, and Stanley Cup winners Mikhail Sergachev and Alexander Nikishin are among the players reported to take the ice.

Olympic champion Andrei Kovalenko, a veteran of Russian hockey, is also planned to participate in the match. Additionally, Spartak football club general director Sergei Nekrasov and Russia-25 team head coach Roman Rotenberg are reported to be on the ice.

Sports Diplomacy Between the Two Countries

This friendly match, realized with the support of the Russian and US chambers of commerce, stands out as one of the sporting events organized within the framework of dialogue between representatives of the two countries. The organization is seen as a symbolic step emphasizing the unifying role of sports in the current geopolitical atmosphere.

Russia and US Ice Hockey Teams to Play a Friendly Match in Moscow on July 1