'Too many mistakes' - GB men's curling medal hopes hang by a thread at Winter Olympics

Tuesday’s 9-5 loss to Canada put their fate out of their own hands and while there is still a small chance, based on current form, you are more likely to see a heatwave hit the sub-zero Dolomites.

Mouat’s form has collapsed and the world champions, who were favourites for gold, face being left out in the cold when the serious business begins this weekend.

After starting strongly, their campaign has been careering towards the rocks and they been unable to course correct. There is still a route through to the knock-out matches but it requires a heavy dose of luck.

“We made too many mistakes,” Mouat said. “I am pretty disappointed. I thought we were carrying the momentum pretty well. I still think that we're doing a lot of good things in the games.

“We know what we need to do. We need to go and win the game. We need to come out and perform as well as we can to hopefully give us a good chance if we get into the semis to build up momentum back up.

“We need a favour from a few teams probably, but ideally if it's all going or trending the right way, then if we win our game, we'll still qualify.”

There is still hope but barely.

Only four of the 10 teams will reach the medal matches and Great Britain need all the help they can get after dropping to fifth in the table.

Switzerland and Canada are safely through, while Norway and Italy have 4-3 records and are sitting in the final two places.

If they both win their matches on Wednesday, it will be all over for Mouat, Grant Hardie, Bobby Lammie and Hammy McMillan Jr, who have played – and lost – an extra game and sit at 4-4. The next tie-breaker is the head-to-head record and they've lost to both.

However, should Italy and Norway lose, then it goes down to Wednesday morning’s final set of round-robin games, with Mouat only able to watch and hope.

Great Britain play USA, also on 4-4, and must win and hope either the Norwegians or Italians lose for a second time. Both just so happen to be playing against the Swiss and Canadians in their last games, so it is not impossible. The permutations are enough to give even AI a headache.

They improved in their performance Canada but when the going got tough, Mouat and his team got going.

They were 5-4 ahead through six ends, looking assured, but as has become the pattern in Cortina, one bad mistake led to a heavy concession of points and they could not recover.

To rub salt into the wound, watching this match was Canada’s performance director David Murdoch, the former Team GB silver medallist and coach of the British squad until 2023.

“It was not a game you would have said we were playing well,” said Hardie. “We made too many mistakes and we know what we did wrong.

“We are running out of time to put it right. Hopefully we can deliver the right results tomorrow.”

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