Ahead of the men's hockey playoffs, Jukka Jalonen's Italian team has been labeled the weakest in the tournament by Stephan Roth in an article for Blick. Italy has yet to win a game, suffering losses in all three of its group stage matches, with a total score of 4-19 indicative of their struggles. The team's performance drew mixed reactions, notably their close match against Sweden, where they lost 5-2 but managed to challenge the Swedish team significantly.

The Gazzetta dello Sport highlighted Italy's valiant effort against one of the favorites, Sweden, noting how the Swedish team 'trembled' until the end. Despite the poor results, Italy narrowly lost to Slovakia 3-2 but faced a disheartening defeat against Finland, ending in an embarrassing 11-0 score. Roth expresses some optimism ahead of the match against Switzerland, suggesting that Jalonen might have some strategies planned to turn things around.

Furthermore, it’s pointed out that Jalonen has been seeking a job in the Swiss top league for some time, adding an intriguing subplot to the upcoming match. The pressure is on Jalonen and the Italian team to perform better against Switzerland, providing a chance to redeem their earlier failures and perhaps maintain his own coaching aspirations in Switzerland. The match against Switzerland could be pivotal not only for Italy's tournament standing but also for Jalonen's coaching career prospects ahead.