The EuroHockey roadshow moves to Prague on Sunday for the women’s Championship II where eight teams will be looking for glory.
There are two Olympic qualifier tickets on offer for the best two placed sides other than France (already qualified as Paris 2024 hosts) and Wales who come under the Great Britain banner for Olympic consideration.
Pool A features the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia and Ukraine while Pool B has Austria, France, Lithuania and Wales with the top two advancing to the semi-finals.
** All games from the event in Prague will be live-streamed on www.eurohockeytv.org
Women’s EuroHockey Championship II (Prague, Czech Republic)
Pool A
Czech Republic (WR: 23)
Hosts Czech Republic come into the competition as the highest ranked side on the world list but know how tough the tournament is having finished in sixth place in Prague in 2021.
It is something of a new era for the side with Tereza Mejzlíková, Jindriška Neusser and Veronika Nováková retiring from the national team after long stints. It is a side with plenty of rising talent with Kamila Kopecká, Katerina Topinkova, Natalie Hajková and Lucie Ducková part of their excellent Under-21 indoor side that won Euro silver in January.
Czech Republic celebrate a goal in Dublin last year. Picture: Evan Treacy/World Sport Pics
Katerina Lacina, Adela Lehovcova and goalkeeper Barbora Ćecháková bring the experience. They qualified as second placed finishers in 2022’s qualifiers with wins over Poland and Türkiye.
Their preparations hit a stumbling block when their luggage was en route to Scotland for a series where they lost their one capped match of 2023 4-0.
Poland (WR: 27)
Fresh from their excellent silver medal at the Hockey5s, many of Norbert Nederlof’s charges have already had an excellent summer. Marlena Rybacha is one of the team’s leading lights having helped Tilburg enjoy a fine season in the Dutch Hoofdklasse while Amelia Katerla plays in the second Dutch tier with MOP.
There is also a quintet of German-based players while four of the panel comes from national champions KS Hokej Start Brzeziny. Maria Drozda steps up from the Under-18 side who she captained to the Championship II in Swansea a couple of weeks ago.
They finished in third place in both 2019 and 2021 before finishing in third place in their qualifier last summer in Dublin, losing to group rivals Czech Republic 1-0.
Poland’s Marlena Rybacha. Picture: Evan Treacy/World Sport Pics
Slovakia (WR: 63)
Slovakia come into the competition as the lowest ranked side at 63rd on the FIH list but are looking forward to their first shot at competing in Championship II.
Previously, their best outing was a third place in the third division which occurred at this same venue in 2005 while they were in sixth place in 2021 and fifth in 2019.
They qualified when they edged out Croatia to claim third place last summer in Durham. They will look to the likes of Dominika Chebenova and captain Natalia Fondrkova to lead their challenge.
Slovakia. Picture: Will Palmer/World Sport Pics
Ukraine (WR: 28)
Ukraine are back in Championship II after a four-year break having won Championship III in Lipovci two years ago. Before that, they gravitated between fifth and eighth in the second division between 2009 and 2019.
This year, though, they can build on an upbeat time within the hockey field and courts – in contrast to away from it – notably with a European bronze medal indoors in Hamburg last December and then again this summer in the Hockey5s in Walcz to qualify for the World Cup.
They qualified courtesy of a strong 3-0 win over Lithuania a year ago with Karyna Leonova, Oksana Ponomarenko and the vastly experienced Yevheniia Moroz scoring. They pushed top-tier bound Italy to the limit in the final of their qualifiers, falling 1-0.
Ukraine. Pic: Frank Uijlenbroek/World Sport Pics
Pool B
Austria (WR: 31)
Austria will hope to push toward the semi-final spots again having done so in 2019 when they ended in fourth place, coming in between a run of three seventh placed finishes in 2015, 2017 and 2021.
It is a largely homebased side with several players from WAC while Katharina Bauer (Harvestehuder THC) and Fiona Felber (Mannheimer HC) play in the German leagues. There are 11 players in the panel that reached the indoor World Cup final earlier this year while Katharina Proksch captained Austria’s Under-18s two weeks ago in Krefeld in their debut in the top division.
The competition will be Corinna Zerbs last one as head coach as she will move on to work with the German federation in August.
Austria. Picture: Rodrigo Jaramillo/World Sport Pics
France (WR: 26)
With a place at the Paris Olympics assured, the French side can use this competition to help develop their credentials which appear to be on the rise.
France shone last week with two wins over top tier Scotland during which Yohanna Lhopital, Marie Simon and Delfina Gaspari all made their 50th international appearances. Philippine Delemazure stepped up from her starring role with the Under-18s to score twice in a 4-2 victory.
Prior to that, they were also highly competitive against Japan. The side has a breadth of experience with players in the Dutch, German, Belgian and Spanish leagues in their panel. They were second two years ago in Prague and will hope to be in the mix for gold again.
France captain Emma Ponthieu last summer. Pic: Rodrigo Jaramillo/World Sport Pics
Lithuania (WR: 58)
Lithuania come into the competition in search of their first win on the international stage for the first time since 2019 following a couple of tricky years. Their third place finish in Vilnius last year in the qualifiers, though, was enough to get a place in Championship II.
The side is led by captain Donata Grigiene and they face a number of rematches from the 2021 competition where they met Austria and the Czech Republic, both of whom are group stage rivals this time around.
Lithuania. Pic: Frank Uijlenbroek/World Sport Pics
Wales (WR: 24)
Wales are facing into the competition off the back of a Tri-Nations Series in Uruguay and will certainly be looking to build upon those performances in Prague. Sarah Jones and Izzie Howell have recently been appointed Vice-Captains of the squad, supporting Captain Beth Bingham.
Bethan Thomas is selected in her first major senior tournament since receiving her 1st cap in June in Uruguay. Izzie Howell – who plays in Germany with Zehlendorfer Wespen – and Izzy Webb are both in line to receive their 50th cap for Wales during the Euros. The squad consists of 12 members who competed at last year’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
Head Coach Kevin Johnson said: “I’m really looking forward to seeing this team perform in Prague at the Euros. The selected group has a decent balance to it in a number of different ways and is capable of producing moments of high quality so we need to make sure we get off to a positive start and then remain consistent with our approach and execution in our bid for success.”
Welsh coach Kevin Johnson. Pic: Will Palmer/World Sport Pics
