Poland – Team Stych

World ranking: 90

2025-26 record: 18-28 (1-8 vs. top 25)

Players: Skip – Konrad Stych; Third – Krzysztof Domin; Second – Marcin Cieminski; Lead – Bartosz Lobaza; Alternate – Maksym Grzelka

Key matchups: vs. USA at 9 a.m. on April 1; vs. Czechia at 2 p.m. on March 30; vs. Norway at 9 a.m. on March 31

Notes: This is the first time Poland has qualified for the World Men’s Curling Championship after Team Stych finished in seventh place at the 2025 European Championships in November. Polish curling has rebounded after its previous governing body was suspended and a new group was recognized in 2022. Stych has won three consecutive national championships.

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South Korea – Team Kim

World ranking: 40

2025-26 record: 36-21 (2-9 vs. top 25)

Players: Skip – Soo-Hyuk Kim; Third – Changmin Kim; Second – Minhyeon Yoo; Lead – Hak Kyun Kim; Alternate – Jae Ik Jeon

Key matchups: vs. USA at 9 a.m. on March 28; vs. Sweden at 9 a.m. on March 30; vs. Japan at 2 p.m. on April 2

Notes: This will be skip Soo-Hyuk Kim’s sixth appearance at a men’s world championship going back to 2003. His best worlds finish was eighth (6-6) in 2022 in Las Vegas. After winning the Korean national championship for the first time in four years, Kim qualified South Korea for worlds with a fifth-place finish (3-4) at the Pan Continental Curling Championships in Minnesota.

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Czechia – Team Klima

World ranking: 28

2025-26 record: 39-42 (13-21 vs. top 25)

Players: Skip – Lukas Klima; Third – Marek Cernovsky; Second – Martin Jurik; Lead – Lukas Klipa; Alternate – Radek Bohac

Key matchups: vs. USA at 9 a.m. on March 31; vs. Germany at 9 a.m. on March 28; vs. Scotland at 7 p.m. on April 2

Notes: This will be Klima’s sixth appearance at worlds (his best finish was seventh in 2025). Team Klima qualified Czechia for worlds with a sixth-place finish (4-5) at the European Championships. At the 2026 Winter Olympics, Czechia started with six losses, but finished by winning three in a row including victories over China, Germany and Sweden (all three teams will be at worlds).

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Germany – Muskatewitz

World ranking: 20

2025-26 record: 30-31 (13-27 vs. top 25)

Players: Skip – Marc Muskatewitz; Third – Benjamin Kapp; Second – Felix Messenzehl; Lead – Johannes Scheuerl; Alternate – Mario Trevisiol

Key matchups: vs. USA at 7 p.m. on March 27; vs. Italy at 9 a.m. on March 29; vs. China at 9 a.m. on April 2

Notes: Muskatewitz qualified Germany for men’s worlds with a fifth-place finish at the European Championships (after winning the 2025 event). This is Muskatewitz’s eighth worlds appearance since 2016 (his best finish was fifth in 2024). At the 2026 Winter Olympics, the German team finished in seventh with a 4-5 record. In Olympic or world championship play, Muskatewitz has never defeated a Canadian team or USA’s Team Shuster.

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Switzerland – Team Hösli

World ranking: 18

2025-26 record: 37-33 (10-23 vs. top 25)

Players: Fourth – Philipp Hösli; Skip – Marco Hösli; Second – Simon Gloor; Lead – Justin Hausheer; Alternate – Jan Hess

Key matchups: vs. USA at 7 p.m. on April 2; vs. Norway at 9 a.m. on March 28; vs. Italy at 7 p.m. on March 29

Notes: Team Marco Hösli, or Hoesli, is representing Switzerland at men’s worlds for the first time after defeating Team Yannick Schwaller for the Swiss national championship in February. Schwaller, who won bronze in the recent Olympics, qualified Switzerland for men’s worlds with a second-place finish at the European Championships. Marco Hösli is 25 years old and his team won silver twice at the world junior championships in 2019 and 2020.

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Japan – Team Yamaguchi

World ranking: 16

2025-26 record: 56-24 (5-9 vs. top 25)

Players: Fourth – Riku Yanagisawa; Skip – Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi; Second – Takeru Yamamoto; Lead – Satoshi Koizumi; Alternate – Shingo Usui

Key matchups: vs. USA at 2 p.m. on March 30; vs. China at 7 p.m. on March 29; vs. Italy at 2 p.m. on April 1

Notes: This is Yamaguchi’s ninth appearance at men’s worlds and second as skip since 2009. His best event finish was fourth in 2016. The Japan Curling Association selected Yamaguchi as Team Japan based on team performance this season. The team qualified Japan for worlds with a bronze finish at the Pan Continental Championships. The team finished just short of claiming an Olympic berth at the Olympic Qualification Event.

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Sweden – Team Edin

World ranking: 13

2025-26 record: 35-32 (19-28 vs. top 25)

Players: Skip – Niklas Edin; Third – Oskar Eriksson; Second – Rasmus Wranå; Lead – Christoffer Sundgren; Alternate – Simon Olofsson

Key matchups: vs. USA at 7 p.m. March 29; vs. Scotland at 1:30 p.m. on March 27; vs. China at 2 p.m. on March 28

Notes: When curling fans discuss the Greatest of All Time, Niklas Edin and his team have the resume to be considered the GOAT. Edin has a complete set of Olympic medals, including gold in 2022 Beijing. This will be his 16th world championships and he has claimed gold seven times. Edin qualified Sweden for worlds by winning the European Championship (his eighth event title). Despite this, the team struggled this year and finished ninth in Milan.

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China – Team Xu

World ranking: 12

2025-26 record: 44-41 (12-27 vs. top 25)

Players: Skip – Xu Xiaoming; Third – Fei Xueqing; Second – Li Zhichao; Lead – Yu Sen; Alternate – Wang Zhenhao

Key matchups: vs. USA at 2 p.m. on March 31; vs. Scotland at 9 a.m. on April 1; vs. Germany at 9 a.m. on April 2

Notes: This is Xu’s ninth worlds appearance since 2008 and his second as skip. His best worlds finish was fourth in 2008 (throwing second) and 2025. Team Xu qualified China for worlds with a fourth-place finish at the Pan Continental Championships. China appears to have recovered from a setback where COVID travel restrictions led to them missing world events. Team Xu had a rough performance at the Milan Games, finishing in 10th.

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Norway – Team Haarstad

World ranking: 48

2025-26 record: 27-16 (2-5 vs. top 25)

Players: Skip – Andreas Haarstad; Third – Wilhelm Naess; Second – Michael Mellemseter; Lead – Mathias Braenden; Alternate – Magnus Ramsfjell

Key matchups: vs. USA at 2 p.m. on April 1; vs. Sweden at 7 p.m. on March 30; vs. Scotland at 7 p.m. on April 1

Notes: Going into men’s worlds, many believed that the Norweigan national championship team Ramsfjell would be in Ogden. An updated World Curling website shows that national runner-up Andreas Haarstad, or Hårstad, will be representing the Scandanavian country with Ramsfjell acting as alternate. Haarstad went undefeated at the Norwegian nationals before losing the final 8-4 to Ramsfjell. This will be Haarstad’s second appearance at men’s worlds.

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USA – Team Shuster

World ranking: 8

2025-26 record: 60-19 (26-16 vs. top 25)

Players: Skip – John Shuster; Third – Chris Plys; Second – Colin Hufman; Lead – Matt Hamilton; Alternate – Aidan Oldenburg

Key matchups: vs. Scotland at 7 p.m. on March 28; vs. Canada at 2 p.m. on March 29; vs. Sweden at 7 p.m. on March 29

Notes: One cannot discuss U.S. curling over the past 20 years without talking about John Shuster. He faced early setbacks in 2010 Vancouver and 2014 Sochi, but pulled off the “Miracurl on Ice” and won Olympic gold against Sweden’s Team Edin in 2018. Today, younger teams have stepped up to challenge Shuster, including Team Danny Casper, which won the 2026 U.S. Olympic Team Trials. The host nation received an automatic berth in men’s worlds.

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Italy – Team Spiller

World ranking: 7 (with Joel Retornaz); 43 (Spiller)

2025-26 record: 45-32 with Retornaz (29-27 vs. top 25)

Players: Skip – Stefano Spiller; Third – Amos Mosaner; Second; Sebastiano Arman; Lead – Alberto Pimpini; Alternate – Mattia Giovanella

Key matchups: vs. USA at 9 a.m. on April 2; vs. Canada at 7 p.m. Friday; vs. Switzerland at 7 p.m. Sunday;

Notes: Many nations use the world championship immediately after an Olympics to have their top team rest or see how a different team fares on the world stage. For Team Italy, Olympic skip Joel Retornaz indicated he would miss men’s worlds in lieu of another competition. That led to Italy picking top junior skip Stefano Spiller to lead the rest of Retornaz’s team. Team Retornaz qualified Italy with a fourth-place finish at the European Championships.

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Scotland – Team Whyte

World ranking: 5

2025-26 record: 53-19 (28-17 vs. top 25)

Players: Skip – Ross Whyte; Third – Robin Brydone; Second – Craig Waddell; Lead – Euan Kyle; Alternate – Duncan McFadzean

Key matchups: vs. USA at 7 p.m. Saturday; vs. Canada at 2 p.m. Saturday; vs. China at 9 a.m. on April 1

Notes: Recently, Scotland has opted to directly select its teams for world events. As a result, Team Bruce Mouat, the world’s top team, has often been picked even as Team Whyte has become an elite team and won 3 straight national titles. With Mouat taking time off after the Olympics, Whyte has been given the nod for his first worlds appearance. Mouat qualified Scotland for men’s worlds with a bronze-medal finish at the European Championships.

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Canada – Team Dunstone

World ranking: 4

2025-26 record: 44-22 (32-20 vs. top 25)

Players: Skip – Matt Dunstone; Third – Colton Lott; Second – E.J. Harnden; Lead – Ryan Harnden; Alternate – Geoff Walker

Key matchups: vs. USA at 2 p.m. Sunday; vs. Germany at 2 p.m. April 2; vs. Scotland at 2 p.m. Saturday

Notes: The fact that this is Matt Dunstone’s first appearance at a world men’s championship underscores how tough the competitive field can be in Canada. Prior to winning the Canadian national championship, Dunstone — nicknamed “The Sheriff” — had fallen just short of wearing the Maple Leaf, including finishing second at the Canadian Curling Trials. Team Brad Jacobs qualified Canada for men’s worlds by winning the Pan Continental Championships.

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Sources: World Curling, Japan Curling Association, Scottish Curling, CurlingZone, DoubleTakeout.com