While the top tier EuroHockey U18 Championship goes on in Krefeld, another 46 games and 21 teams will be played in four Championship II events in Wales, Croatia and Türkiye.
In Zagreb, five teams contest the II-A competition which will be played in a round-robin format, starting on Monday. The Croatian hosts are joined by the Czech Republic, Italy, Lithuania and Switzerland.
II-B features three teams following the withdrawal of Ukraine. Wales host in Swansea with Türkiye and Poland the other two teams. Each team will play each other twice in a group stage format.
On the boys side, II-A has six teams involved in Alanya, Türkiye. The hosts are joined by Bulgaria, Croatia, Finland, France and Ukraine. From Monday, July 10th to Saturday, July 15th, there will be three games a day in the single group phase.
II-B is in Swansea, meanwhile, there are seven sides in action with Italy, Lithuania and Wales in Pool A while Pool B has Czech Republic, Luxembourg, Slovakia and Switzerland.
From each II-A and II-B tournament, the winner will be promoted to the top division in 2025. Second and third place will play in Championship II in two years time together with the four relegated sides from the top division.
The remaining sides will be “relegated” and play in Championship III in 2025.
** All the games from Swansea will be live streamed by www.eurohockeytv.org
** Ahead of the event, we got the lowdown on some of the sides involved in each event **
Girls
EuroHockey Championship II-A – one pool (Zagreb, Croatia)
Croatia (pictured above)
Hosts Croatia come into the side off the back of a three-day training camp in Slovenia under the tutelage of head coach Tin Matkovic, the much-travelled coach most recently with Berliner SC.
Several older players have already recorded appearances for the women national team and clubs. The 16-year-old goalkeeper Tea Andričić is one to watch having played already for the senior international squad four times as well as playing in her country’s debut in the top tier of the Under-21 indoor Europeans in January.
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic have had a busy schedule to date, taking on strong Irish, German and Belgian sides in Aachen at Easter before facing off against Austria and Ukraine girls during the summer to have them looking forward to this tournament.
Reflecting on the Aachen trip, coach Martin Capouch said: “The biggest difference between us and our opponent was mainly the technical side. The tournament showed us what we need to improve on technically and tactically. The games had more momentum and that’s what we need to focus on.”
He is supported by assistant coach and legendary Czech goalkeeper Barbora Cechakova.
Czech Republic
Italy
Roberto Carta’s side will be looking to push their case for a best ever finish at this level having ended in third place in the second tier in 2002 and 2015 while they were eighth in 2021 in Zurich.
The line-up features a quartet of Butterfly HCC players and a trio of HF Lorenzoni in a fully home-based panel.
Lithuania
Lithuania have a young and passionate team, aged between 13 and 18, consisting of a few players who have already participated in international competitions, while many others are making their debut.
This will be a great opportunity for the debuting players to gain valuable experience at an international level while the experienced players can showcase their skills and leadership abilities.
Under the guidance of Head Coach Ana Rekašius and assistant coach Aušra Janutaitė, the team has been training together for several months, forging a strong bond and developing a cohesive playing style.
The head coach said of the event: “This is a very young and talented squad. The team has shown a lot of potential in their training and preparation for the EuroHockey Championship tournament in Zagreb. I hope that the girls will not only perform well but also enjoy the games, as this is a valuable experience for them to grow as players and individuals.”
Lithuania
Switzerland
The Swiss team is a big mix between experienced players and young girls. Some have already played European cups with their club team or European Championships with the Swiss U-16, U-18 or U-21s and others are still very young (the youngest is 14) and only joined the national team this year.
As they have four official languages in Switzerland, you will hear us speak a mix of Swiss German, high German, French, Dutch and English on and off the pitch; indeed, there are 12 players with dual nationality while the staff hail rom Germany, South Africa and the Netherlands.
Captain Dunja Härtsch has had to be stitched up in the last 3 European championships that she played (U16 in 2019 left eyebrow, U18 in 2021 right eyebrow and U21 in 2022 right side of her chin). They are keeping our fingers crossed that it won’t be necessary in Zagreb!
Switzerland girls
EuroHockey Championship II-B – One Pool (Swansea, Wales)
Poland
Sławomir Mazany, the head coach of the Polish Under-18 national team, had a line-up hailing primarily from three clubs with UKS SP 5 Swarek Swarzedz supplying eight players, three from KS Hokej Start Brzeziny and five from AZS Politechnika Poznań.
Juli Horn, meanwhile, is the one foreign-based player – she plays with Berliner HC in Germany. For Poland, they have competed at this level for the past.
Türkiye
Türkiye have a panel featuring 10 players with previous international experiences, nine of whom played ay Under-16 Hockey5s European Championship level when they were third in Basel.
Two, meanwhile, played in January’s U21 indoors where they picked up third spot – captain Sila Erkoç and Esma Idik. The panel have mostly been together since 2019 in different age categories and have taken in three recent camps.
This will be their first ever campaign in the second tier having previously finished fourth in 2018 and 2021 in the third division in Konya and Zagreb.
Wales
Wales will be looking to land the one promotion spot on offer to potentially play in the top tier for just a second time, the previous one being in 2013 in Dublin. Most recently, they finished in sixth place in 2018 in Rakovnik but they could not compete in 2021.
The squad draws heavily on Penarth Hockey Club who recently shone on the European club stage in Vienna with goalkeeper Amy Partridge lining out. She has three club mates in the line-up while there are five from Swansea from whom Olivia Forey, Makenzy Beard and Grace Diamond played European indoor club in February in Cambrai.
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Boys
EuroHockey Championship II-A – one pool (Alanya, Türkiye)
Bulgaria
Bulgaria will be looking to draw inspiration from their Special Olympics team who became World Games silver medalists last week.
“We have been waiting for this moment for four years, years in which we put a lot of effort, invested time and funds. The moment has come to prove we exist and that we can win!” said their federation’s Gergana Vukovic ahead of their departure.
It will be their first tournament at this level having played in the third tier on six occasions, most recently in Albena in 2016 where they finished in fourth place.
Croatia
Croatia’s main preparations came at the recent Panonia Cup where they won 7-0 against and then lost 2-0 to the Hungary senior team; they also learned a lot from games against the Croatian senior side.
A lot of players have previous youth international experience including Dan Šimek (capitan), Roko Varga and Marin Buljević played for HAHK Mladost on Eurohockey Club Trophy II and won third place.
Croatia boys
Fran Nemčić, Ivan Šoić, Domagoj Hrupec, Željko Ruga(gk) and Nikola Silić played for Hk Zelina at Eurohockey Club Challenge I and also finished third.
“The preparations were simple but hard, the boys are ready and can’t wait to play in Türkiye” said the Croatian head coach Filip Taušan.
Finland
Finland has participated in the U18 European Championship only once before, in 2018 in Konya, Turkey. At that time, the result was one win and four losses in a tough competition, and the tough opposition is also expected this time. However, the team goes to the tournament with the goal of improving the result of 2018.
They started preparation in January 2023 and so far six training camp days have been completed. In addition, the group has played two practice games against a rest of Finland team.
Nine players from the squad were part of the Finland U21 team who played in European competition in Helsinki in 2022. In addition, Jobanvir Khaira, Lauri Ondreka and Elmeri Rihtilä were a couple of years underage in 2019 in the Finnish U16 team at the European Championships in Bulgaria. The rest of the players are first-timers in international national team games.
At the end of May, a total of 10 team members gained valuable experience in the European club competition tournaments with Vantaa HC and HC Kilppari. As a special note, Joban Khaira from the ranks of Vantaa HC in Kirklareli, Turkey was awarded as the best goalkeeper of the tournament and Elmeri Rihtilä as the best player of the tournament.
Finland
France
The French side arrive in Türkiye following a 1.5 year preparation with a large part of the squad part of the CREPS elite hockey school while playing in the Frencgh championship.
A couple are based further afield with Loic Berlinghof playing with Mannheimer HC and Clément Vader with Klein Zwitserland while Lille’s Malo Martinache has a unique place in EHL history as the youngster ever player in the famous club competition.
Coach Matthias Dierckens has plenty of European knowledge having played EHL with Lille and then been a member of KHC Dragons in Belgium before coaching Saint Germain.
He says: ”We are very eager to start the tournament and see how our players will be able to put in use the work that we’ve put in the last months.
“We know that this tournament will be no easy task and we’ll take every team very seriously. It’s great to go to Turkey where hockey seems to be developing very fast.
“It will be the first real competition for our players and it will be interesting to see how they behave and evolve in that context’.’
France boys
Türkiye
Türkiye are playing in the second tier of this competition for just the third time and will be hoping to improve on their seventh place finish in 2021 in Vienna, their highest ever finish.
They have met some of these opponents before with a 2-1 win over Croatia in the third tier in 2018, a couple of big wins over Bulgaria in 2016, Finland in 2018 along with a close run 4-3 defeat to Ukraine in the same year.
Ukraine
Ukraine are another side angling for a best ever finish in the Under-18 boys championship having ended in sixth place in Vienna in 2021. That was their fourth attempt in the second division having won the third tier three times (2007, 2015 and 2018).
The side is coached by Vitalii Bondarchuk who played in the EHL with OKS SHVSM Vinnitsa. He was physio with the Under-18 side in 2018, assistant coach in 2021 and now has the main coaching role.
EuroHockey Championship II-B – two pools (Swansea, Wales)
Pool A
Italy
Italy have a team with players with varied backgrounds on the international stage, hailing from 10 different clubs.
Head Coach is Germán Chaves, an Argentinian coach who is in Italy since 2004, training the Reggio Emilia team (Città del Tricolore). He was the U21 Italian Head Coach last year and he works as assistant coach for the senior National team with Gilles Van Hesteren.
Italy will be hoping to quality for the top division for a second time having played at that level in 2016. In 2021, they were fourth in Vienna in Championship II.
Lithuania
Lithuania come into the competition off the back of a healthy schedule of trainings with head coach Donata Grigienė pleased with how things have evolved: “The guys worked willingly, although it was definitely not easy. I am glad that everyone in the national team is motivated, there is healthy quantitative competition, which “adds” desire and motivation.
“I am happy with my young colleagues – Mantvydus Pocevičius and Karolina Raulinaityte, who, being maximalists, have a great feeling and motivate the team by their example, it is very fun and easy to work together.”
This will be their first season playing above Championship III level where they finished in fourth place in both 2018 and 2021.
Wales
Wales are bidding to qualify for the top division for the first time in their history having come close to promotion in both 2005 and 2007. They are hosting for the second time in three tournaments with Cardiff the venue for their fourth place finish in 2018.
Euan Dunton and Alistair Dyer both know the territory well, playing with Swansea Hockey Club while there is a quartet from Whitchurch in the line-up.
Pool B
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic side are hoping they can push for promotion to the top division for a second time having played there in 2016 in Cork. The past two appearances have seen them finish in fifth place in 2018 and 2021 in this second tier.
In terms of preparation, they recently drew 2-2 with the USA Under-21 side and won 7-0 and 4-1 against the USA Under-18s. They also got the best of Slovakia and then beat Austria 2-1.
Speaking of the series, vice captain Dominik Purkart said: “This week was challenging, both in terms of the quality of the opponents and the temperature forecast. Every opponent was different, but we wanted to assert our system and quality, and we succeeded.
“We played all the matches and achieved good results. During these matches, we tried out different styles of play, in order to be advisedly ready for Europe at any moment.”
Luxembourg
Luxembourg will be playing in just their second EuropHockey Championship having lined out in the third division in 2021 in Zagreb where they finished in fifth place.
The side is coached by Federico Tanuscio who brings an extensive range of experiences across Europe with Racing Club de Bruxelles, Black Boys and Luzerner SC.
The side features a quartet of players who played for HC Luxembourg in the EuroHockey Club Challenge II in Türkiye in May where they finished in third place.
Luxembourg
Slovakia
Slovakia’s team is composed from three with most of the boys from KPH Rača and HAŠ Šenkvice; those from Rača play not only in the Slowakian championship but also in the Czech Republic.
Some of the boys from HAŠ Šenkvice, meanwhile, have played for the last two seasons for Austrian club SV Arminen. Their preparation for the EuroHockey U18 started in March. In addition to club trainings, the boys have one training per week as U18, and every two weeks we have a training-camp (full weekend). Last week, they participated in an international tournament in Prague where they met teams from Czechia, Austria and USA. They have a pretty young panel, the average age is less than 16.
Slovakia boys
Switzerland
Seven players from this panel won the bronze medal at the U16 Hockey5s EuroHockey Championship in 2022 in Basel and they will look to bring that knowledge here. They started their preparation last September in Paris with three games against France.
At Easter, they played a further games in Zagreb against Croatia while in May they came together for a one-week camp at home.
This event takes place twice a year with other different disciplines and Swiss national teams, supported by the Swiss Olympic committee. They also took in three games against Wales in Cardiff
Players hail from Geneva, Basel, Wettingen, Olten, Zurich, Lucern, Mannheim, Düsseldorf and Maastricht while two players will have their birthday during this competition.
Switzerland boys
