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<p>Croatia assured themselves a place in the final of the men’s EuroHockey Indoor Championship II-A in Zelina following key wins over both Slovakia and Denmark.</p>



<p>Hungary got their first win of the competition in the day’s opening game when they beat Bulgaria 9-3. A tight first half saw the Hungarians lead 3-1 with their opponents ruing a missed penalty stroke.</p>



<p>But they raced away in the second half with Milán Galba netting three times and Zsigmond Szóga and András Hortobágyi getting two each.</p>



<p>Croatia added to their confident start with a 6-2 defeat of Slovakia, moving up to six points. They were in healthy shape when Matthias Bachmann and Josip Krleža made it 2-0 in Q1 and they stretched out a six-goal advantage before the Slovaks finished strong with a couple of late goals.</p>



<p>Slovakia bounced back in the evening session with a 13-2 win over Bulgaria with five goals from Daniel Petráš and four from Adrian Augustinič.</p>



<p>The day concluded with Croatia getting their key win over Denmark, the crucial phase coming between the 13<sup>th</sup> and 18<sup>th</sup> minutes when they scored four goals in jig-time.</p>



<p>Before that, Denmark had 2-1 with a couple of Jesper Jonasson goals in Q1 but they soon found themselves trailing 5-2.</p>



<p>They got it back to 5-4 briefly but Anže Fujs slotted a killer sixth goal for a 6-4 win and top spot in the group with one round of group games to go.</p>



<p>Who joins them in the final will be determined by the meeting between Denmark and Slovakia in the morning.</p>



<p><strong>Saturday results</strong></p>



<figure class="wp-block-table"><table class="has-fixed-layout"><thead><tr><th>Teams</th><th>Title</th><th>Scoreline</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://tms.fih.ch/matches/21526">DEN &#8211; CRO</a></td><td>Pool A</td><td>4 &#8211; 6</td></tr><tr><td><a href="https://tms.fih.ch/matches/21525">BUL &#8211; SVK</a></td><td>Pool A</td><td>2 &#8211; 13</td></tr><tr><td><a href="https://tms.fih.ch/matches/21524">SVK &#8211; CRO</a></td><td>Pool A</td><td>2 &#8211; 6</td></tr><tr><td><a href="https://tms.fih.ch/matches/21523">HUN &#8211; BUL</a></td><td>Pool A</td><td>9 &#8211; 3</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>



<p><strong>Table standings after day two</strong></p>



<figure class="wp-block-table"><table class="has-fixed-layout"><thead><tr><th>Rank</th><th>Team</th><th>Pl</th><th>W</th><th>D</th><th>L</th><th>Goal Diff</th><th>Pts</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1</td><td><a href="https://tms.fih.ch/teams/7787">Croatia</a></td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>27</td><td>9</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td><a href="https://tms.fih.ch/teams/7789">Slovakia</a></td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>0</td><td>1</td><td>15</td><td>6</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td><a href="https://tms.fih.ch/teams/7788">Denmark</a></td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>0</td><td>1</td><td>13</td><td>6</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td><a href="https://tms.fih.ch/teams/8284">Hungary</a></td><td>3</td><td>1</td><td>0</td><td>2</td><td>-4</td><td>3</td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td><a href="https://tms.fih.ch/teams/7786">Bulgaria</a></td><td>4</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>4</td><td>-51</td><td>0</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>



<p><strong>Sunday schedule</strong></p>



<figure class="wp-block-table"><table class="has-fixed-layout"><thead><tr><th>Time</th><th>Teams</th><th>Title</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>08:30</td><td><a href="https://tms.fih.ch/matches/21527">SVK &#8211; DEN</a></td><td>Pool A</td></tr><tr><td>10:00</td><td><a href="https://tms.fih.ch/matches/21528">CRO &#8211; HUN</a></td><td>Pool A</td></tr><tr><td>13:00</td><td><a href="https://tms.fih.ch/matches/21529">3rd Pool A &#8211; 4th Pool A</a></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>14:30</td><td><a href="https://tms.fih.ch/matches/21530">1st Pool A &#8211; 2nd Pool A</a></td><td></td></tr></tbody></table></figure>



<p></p>



<p></p>


Croatia bound for II-A final with Denmark and Slovakia giving chase


<p>Austria will face Poland &nbsp;in the men’s schauinsland reisen EuroHockey Championship final following a rocking day at the SNP Dome in Heidelberg.</p>



<p>The former won through in a shoot-out against Spain before Poland upset the full house when they beat Germany 4-3 to reach the final for the fourth time.</p>



<p>The red capricorns were the first to reach the final, doing so after a huge defensive display kept the livewire Spanish at bay for long periods before striking on the counter.</p>



<p>And then they produced the good in a shoot-out after normal time ended 3-3 with Mateusz Szymczyk keeping out all three Spain efforts.</p>



<p>Losonci opened the scoring just three minutes in from a corner but they spent much of the first half penned inside their own circle, forced to retreat and tackle back hard.</p>



<p>Ferran Muñoz equalised in the fifth minute and then Spain went in front early in the second quarter but they found further openings hard to come bay.</p>



<p>Austria duly caught them just before half-time with Losonci nicking the 2-2 goal.</p>



<p>Muñoz restored the lead for Spain in Q3 but Losonci came up with the goods from a corner once more with two minutes to go for 3-3.</p>



<p>He scored again in the shoot-out while Szymczyk saved everything else for a 1-0 success.</p>



<p>The second semi saw Poland look to overturn the home favourites in front of a sold out and raucous crowd in a repeat of the 2024 final.</p>



<p>It was tight and tactical in the first half with Poland looking the more co-ordinated side and they took the lead just before half-time through Gracjan Jarzyński with a sumptuous backhand finish.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="819" src="https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/WP8_8877-20260110-1024x819.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-7004" srcset="https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/WP8_8877-20260110-1024x819.jpg 1024w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/WP8_8877-20260110-300x240.jpg 300w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/WP8_8877-20260110-768x614.jpg 768w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/WP8_8877-20260110-1536x1229.jpg 1536w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/WP8_8877-20260110-2048x1638.jpg 2048w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/WP8_8877-20260110-1x1.jpg 1w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/WP8_8877-20260110-200x160.jpg 200w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/WP8_8877-20260110-500x400.jpg 500w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



<p><em>Gracjan Jarzyński celebrates. Picture: Frank Uijlenbroek/World Sport Pics</em></p>



<p>Dieter Linnekogel levelled from a corner in Q3 but any sense it would unsettle the Poles were quickly dispelled as Maksymilian Koperski’s clever corner put them back in front within a minute. Then Jarzyński forced in another for 3-1.</p>



<p>Sten Brandenstein cut the gap once more before the third break but Jacek Kurowski put more distance back into the Polish lead when he poked one through the defences of Jasper Ditzer.</p>



<p>From there, Germany piled on the pressure and Anton Pöhling reduced the lead to 4-3 with four minutes left. Poland, though, were not to breached again and they held on for a famous win.</p>



<p>They now go in search of a first ever title while Austria are going for a fourth success having won in 2010, 2018 and 2022.</p>



<p>In the fifth to eighth place playoffs, it was a thrill a minute with Belgium and Switzerland winning thrillers.</p>



<p>For the indoor red lions, they staved off a Czechia comeback to win 5-4, a nervy ending after they had built a 4-0 lead in the first 16 minutes with Philippe Simar scoring his 10<sup>th</sup> and 11<sup>th</sup> goals of the weekend.</p>



<p>Vít Soukup got his side on the scoreboard at half-time but their position looked forlorn at 5-2 going into the final stages; the Czechs got two back but too late to affect the outcome.</p>



<p>Switzerland, meanwhile, came back from 4-2 and 5-3 down before winning against Portugal in a shoot-out, denying the latter their best ever finish in the Euros.</p>



<p>The flair of Laurens Halfmann and Rodrigo Castro created those leads but the Swiss netted four times from set pieces – two Michel Morard corners, two Loris Grandchamp strokes – and then drew level via Mika Conrad.</p>



<p>In the shoot-out, Yves Morard and Grandchamp’s impudent flick to the top corner secured a 2-0 outcome.</p>


Austria edge out Spain as Poland stun Germany to reach men’s EHIC final


<p>Italy took a massive step toward promotion back to the top tier for the first time since 2010 while Greece produced an historic comeback to also make it two wins on Saturday.</p>



<p>The Italians landed big wins over Sweden and, crucially, Ukraine on day two of the Jønk EuroHockey Indoor Championship II-B men.</p>



<p>First, they made it three wins from three with another comfortable victory, this time a 17-1 success against Sweden, Giovanni Faggian the top scorer in this one with five goals.</p>



<p>Ukraine followed them onto nine points with an imposing 8-3 win over Lithuania, breaking their 100% record as six first half goals was the difference.</p>



<p>Vitalii Shevchuck scored twice within a minute and then the Ukranians scored four more in a whirlwind three minute spell for a 6-0 half-time lead.</p>



<p>The second half was tighter with Lithuania outscoring their opponents 3-2 but Shevchuk got another pair to keep them out of range.</p>



<p>Greece picked off a 6-3 win over Norway to give them a chance at a best ever finish in European indoor action. Two goals in the second quarter from Nikolas Dierckx helped create a 3-1 lead and this was extended to 5-2 in the second half by Cedwyn Hochhauser and Elias Diringer.</p>



<p>Norway did cut the gap somewhat with goals from Arunpreet Singh Garcha and Fredrik Helgetveit but Greece had their result.</p>



<p>In the day’s second session, a brilliant first quarter saw Pietro Lago, Alessandro Muzzioli and Valerio Iossa all score for a 3-0 lead against Ukraine. Shevchuk got one back before half-time but another from Muzzioli and one from Gabriel Biocca made it 5-1.</p>



<p>Ukraine fought hard in the closing stages but Italy ended up winning 6-4 in the final reckoning for a three-point overnight lead in the table.</p>



<p>They can win promotion with a draw or better against Lithuania on Sunday morning.</p>



<p>Greece backed up their earlier win with another courtesy of a stunning comeback to beat Sweden 5-4. They trailed 4-1 after 23 minutes but a rousing comeback was put together with Cedwyn Hochhauser scoring a hat trick and Nikloas Dierckx fired in two, the latter of which won it in the 39<sup>th</sup> minute.</p>



<p>&nbsp;Lithuania then moved up to nine points with Ukraine as they won a 4-2 battle with host side Norway. The first half ended scoreless before the Lithuanian side blew the game open with three goals in as many minutes in Q3, Mantvydas Pocevicius, Arnas Ridlauskas and Rafal Stankević making it 3-0.</p>



<p>Norway replied late on via Sam Rathore and Talha Asif but an Andžej Burkot goal meant confirmed the Lithuanian win.</p>



<p>Ukraine will need a favour from Lithuania and then a big win over Greece to have any chance of gold but the Greeks are also in the mathematical frame for a medal so will battle hard.</p>



<p>Norway and Sweden will contest for fifth and sixth place.</p>


Italy close in on promotion as Greece are the comeback kings


<p>Poland and Austria completed the schaunisland reisen EuroHockey Indoor Championship semi-final line-up in Heidelberg as they both did enough to leave Czechia out of the running.</p>



<p>Poland left it right until the last minute to snatch their place in the final four ahead of Czechia courtesy of a Jacek Kurowski goal which earned a 4-4 draw.</p>



<p>The Czechs led 2-0 and 4-2&nbsp; with Lukas Plochý driving things and Adam Uhlíř equally influential to put them in the frame for a first semi-final since 2016.</p>



<p>But a Gracjan Jarzyński stroke with three minutes gave them hope before Kurowksi swooped on the final chance for the draw.</p>



<p>That result meant Austria needed to avoid a three-goal defeat against Portugal to follow Poland through and they got that with a 3-3 draw.</p>



<p>Rodrigo Castro’s counter-attack goal had given Portugal the lead before Austria came into their stride in Q2, creating a 3-2 advantage with goals from Florian Steyrer, Nikolas Wellan and Marcin Nyckowiak.</p>



<p>David Franco levelled in Q3 before the game tightened up with precious few chances in the closing phases, a result which saw the Red Capricorns through as top of Pool A.</p>



<p>In Pool B, Switzerland won a goalfest against Belgium 8-5 to take third place in the group and a game with Portugal in the fifth to eighth place playoffs.</p>



<p>They were never behind and pulled away in Q4 after it was level at 1-1, 2-2 and 3-3 with Loris Grandchamp scoring a hat trick.</p>



<p>That left Germany to play Spain in the last group game to determine who went through in first and second. Once again, in front of a full house at the SNP Dome, the Germans raced out of the blocks with goals from Anton Pöhling, Nicolas Proske and Nik Kerner.</p>



<p>Spain rallied with Ferran Muñoz and Pablo Roman reducing the deficit to 4-2 at half-time and they got within one by the final reckoning 5-4 but Germany held on for the win and first in the group.</p>


Poland and Austria complete semi-final line-up at packed SNP Dome


<p>Italy, Ukraine and Lithuania all ran up two wins from two on day one of the Jønk EuroHockey Indoor Championship II-B as Oslo played host to its first event of this magnitude.</p>



<p>Lithuania started off in style with an 8-2 success against Greece based around five first half goals. Greece had taken the lead through Cedwyn Hochhauser but the goalscoring machine Povilas Sinkevičius fired things the Lithuanian way with four goals.</p>



<p>Italy eased by the challenge of Norway 21-1 in game two, six of them coming from Marcello Succi and a further four from Alessandro Muzzioli.</p>



<p>Ukraine opened their account with a 6-1 win over Sweden – returning after a long absence – with the second half proving critical. Dmytro Luppa and Jan-Olof Rydin shared first half goals for 1-1 but the Ukraine team pulled away after half-time with Vitalii Shevchuk scoring twice.</p>



<p>For phase two of the fixtures, Italy again impressed with three goals in the first eight minutes en route to a 5-1 win against Greece.</p>



<p>Ukraine got their second win with a 13-3 win over hosts Norway, scoring four penalty strokes along the way. Oleksandr Solomianyi got two of them out of his total of four goals.</p>



<p>Lithuania then closed out the day with a lively 9-5 win over Sweden with Sinkevičius once again scoring four. They built a 5-1 lead before the Swedes raced back to reduce the score to 5-4 in the 18<sup>th</sup> minute.</p>



<p>But the second half belonged to Lithuania as they pulled away to move up to six points.</p>



<p><strong>Friday results</strong></p>



<figure class="wp-block-table"><table class="has-fixed-layout"><thead><tr><th>Teams</th><th>Title</th><th>Scoreline</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://tms.fih.ch/matches/21532">LTU &#8211; GRE</a></td><td>Pool A</td><td>8 &#8211; 2</td></tr><tr><td><a href="https://tms.fih.ch/matches/21533">ITA &#8211; NOR</a></td><td>Pool A</td><td>21 &#8211; 1</td></tr><tr><td><a href="https://tms.fih.ch/matches/21531">UKR &#8211; SWE</a></td><td>Pool A</td><td>6 &#8211; 1</td></tr><tr><td><a href="https://tms.fih.ch/matches/21535">ITA &#8211; GRE</a></td><td>Pool A</td><td>5 &#8211; 1</td></tr><tr><td><a href="https://tms.fih.ch/matches/21536">UKR &#8211; NOR</a></td><td>Pool A</td><td>13 &#8211; 3</td></tr><tr><td><a href="https://tms.fih.ch/matches/21534">SWE &#8211; LTU</a></td><td>Pool A</td><td>5 &#8211; 9</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>



<p><strong>Day one standings</strong></p>



<figure class="wp-block-table"><table class="has-fixed-layout"><thead><tr><th>Rank</th><th>Team</th><th>Played</th><th>Wins</th><th>Draws</th><th>Losses</th><th>Goal Diff</th><th>Pts</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1</td><td><a href="https://fih.altiusrt.com/teams/7791">Italy</a></td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>24</td><td>6</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td><a href="https://fih.altiusrt.com/teams/7795">Ukraine</a></td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>15</td><td>6</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td><a href="https://fih.altiusrt.com/teams/7792">Lithuania</a></td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>10</td><td>6</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td><a href="https://fih.altiusrt.com/teams/7794">Sweden</a></td><td>2</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>2</td><td>-9</td><td>0</td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td><a href="https://fih.altiusrt.com/teams/8277">Greece</a></td><td>2</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>2</td><td>-10</td><td>0</td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td><a href="https://fih.altiusrt.com/teams/7793">Norway</a></td><td>2</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>2</td><td>-30</td><td>0</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>



<p><strong>Saturday schedule</strong></p>



<figure class="wp-block-table"><table class="has-fixed-layout"><thead><tr><th>Time</th><th>Teams</th><th>Title</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>10:00</td><td><a href="https://tms.fih.ch/index.php/matches/21537">SWE &#8211; ITA</a></td><td>Pool A</td></tr><tr><td>11:30</td><td><a href="https://tms.fih.ch/index.php/matches/21538">LTU &#8211; UKR</a></td><td>Pool A</td></tr><tr><td>13:00</td><td><a href="https://tms.fih.ch/index.php/matches/21539">GRE &#8211; NOR</a></td><td>Pool A</td></tr><tr><td>16:00</td><td><a href="https://tms.fih.ch/index.php/matches/21540">ITA &#8211; UKR</a></td><td>Pool A</td></tr><tr><td>17:30</td><td><a href="https://tms.fih.ch/index.php/matches/21541">GRE &#8211; SWE</a></td><td>Pool A</td></tr><tr><td>19:00</td><td><a href="https://tms.fih.ch/index.php/matches/21542">NOR &#8211; LTU</a></td><td>Pool A</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>


Italy, Lithuania and Ukraine shine as Norway hosts first indoor championship II-B event


<p>Denmark lead the way in Sveti Ivan Zelina at the men’s EuroHockey Indoor Championship II-A after two wins to begin the competition.</p>



<p>They head up the five-team table ahead of Croatia and Slovakia who both won their only game with Hungary and Bulgaria awaiting their first points.</p>



<p>The Danes began with a comprehensive 14-1 success against Bulgaria with eight different goalscorers with Oliver Sørensen getting a hat trick.</p>



<p>Slovakia were next to run up a big score as they defeated Hungary 8-0, scoring four from four penalty corners in Q2. Two goals each came from Daniel Petráš , Adrian Augustinič and Juraj Bogar.</p>



<p>Game three was the closest of the day with Denmark edging out Hungary 4-2. It looked to be plain sailing in the first quarter when they ran up a 3-0 lead through Oscar Birch-Hald, Rasmus Westrup and Jesper Jonasson.</p>



<p>But a double from Sebastian Leber cut the gap to 3-2 with seven minutes left and the tie was only settled by Sørensen in the dying moments.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="586" src="https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Croatia-1-1024x586.png" alt="" class="wp-image-6988" srcset="https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Croatia-1-1024x586.png 1024w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Croatia-1-300x172.png 300w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Croatia-1-768x439.png 768w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Croatia-1-1536x878.png 1536w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Croatia-1-1x1.png 1w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Croatia-1-200x114.png 200w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Croatia-1-500x286.png 500w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Croatia-1.png 1616w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



<p><em>Pictures: Dragan Lučić</em></p>



<p>Hosts Croatia closed out the day with the big win of the day, sweeping to a 22-1 win over Bulgaria; Mario Mucić scored seven; Mario Ilinović got six and Matthias Bachmann netted five.</p>



<p>Saturday sees Hungary face Bulgaria with both looking for their first points before Slovakia and Croatia put their 100% records to the test.</p>



<p>The evening games sees Bulgaria meeting Slovakia and Denmark taking on Croatia.</p>



<p><strong>Friday results</strong></p>



<figure class="wp-block-table"><table class="has-fixed-layout"><thead><tr><th>Time</th><th>Teams</th><th>Title</th><th>Scoreline</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>12:00</td><td><a href="https://fih.altiusrt.com/matches/21519">DEN &#8211; BUL</a></td><td>Pool A</td><td>14 &#8211; 1</td></tr><tr><td>13:30</td><td><a href="https://fih.altiusrt.com/matches/21520">SVK &#8211; HUN</a></td><td>Pool A</td><td>8 &#8211; 0</td></tr><tr><td>17:30</td><td><a href="https://fih.altiusrt.com/matches/21521">DEN &#8211; HUN</a></td><td>Pool A</td><td>4 &#8211; 2</td></tr><tr><td>19:00</td><td><a href="https://fih.altiusrt.com/matches/21522">CRO &#8211; BUL</a></td><td>Pool A</td><td>22 &#8211; 1</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>



<p><strong>Day one table</strong></p>



<figure class="wp-block-table"><table class="has-fixed-layout"><thead><tr><th>Rank</th><th>Team</th><th>Pl</th><th>W</th><th>D</th><th>L</th><th>Goal Diff</th><th>Pts</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1</td><td><a href="https://tms.fih.ch/teams/7788">Denmark</a></td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>15</td><td>6</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td><a href="https://tms.fih.ch/teams/7787">Croatia</a></td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>21</td><td>3</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td><a href="https://tms.fih.ch/teams/7789">Slovakia</a></td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>8</td><td>3</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td><a href="https://tms.fih.ch/teams/8284">Hungary</a></td><td>2</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>2</td><td>-10</td><td>0</td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td><a href="https://tms.fih.ch/teams/7786">Bulgaria</a></td><td>2</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>2</td><td>-34</td><td>0</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>



<p><strong>Saturday schedule</strong></p>



<figure class="wp-block-table"><table class="has-fixed-layout"><tbody><tr><td>11:30</td><td><a href="https://fih.altiusrt.com/matches/21523">HUN &#8211; BUL</a></td><td>Pool A</td></tr><tr><td>13:00</td><td><a href="https://fih.altiusrt.com/matches/21524">SVK &#8211; CRO</a></td><td>Pool A</td></tr><tr><td>17:00</td><td><a href="https://fih.altiusrt.com/matches/21525">BUL &#8211; SVK</a></td><td>Pool A</td></tr><tr><td>18:30</td><td><a href="https://fih.altiusrt.com/matches/21526">DEN &#8211; CRO</a></td><td>Pool A</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>



<p></p>


Denmark lead way after II-B day one in Zelina


<p>Germany and Spain both secured their spots in the final four of the men’s EuroHockey Indoor Championship in Heidelberg with third successive wins in Pool B.</p>



<p>Pool A remains up for grabs with Czechia and Poland’s showdown on Saturday morning likely to be decisive after Austria won back-to-back games on Friday.</p>



<p>Despite two close-run battles, Türkiye were confirmed in fifth place in Pool A which means they will be relegated to the second tier in 2028. Ireland will also drop down after Switzerland won a dramatic battle in Pool B.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-portugal-and-austria-s-first-wins-as-germany-and-spain-keep-100-record"><strong>Portugal and Austria’s first wins as Germany and Spain keep 100% record</strong></h3>



<p>Portugal picked up a vital 5-3 win over Türkiye to give their campaign a boost after two opening day losses. They fell behind to an early Celal Aydin effort but the Portuguese side got the next three and stayed just out of reach from then on.</p>



<p>It was close throughout, though, with Türkiye closing the gap to 3-2 and 4-3 going into the last nine minutes but Rodrigo Castro’s goal in the last minutes confirmed the victory.</p>



<p>Austria got their first win on the board as they found more rhythm to beat Czechia 4-2 although they were initially frustrated, twice hitting the crossbar in the early moments.</p>



<p>Sebastian Eitenberger and Lukas Plochý traded goals for 1-1 at half-time and it was 2-2 midway through Q3 before Xaver Hasun and Max Kelner both slotted home chances to give the world number one side some extra breathing room.</p>



<p>In Pool B, Spain stretched their legs to make it three wins from three and the brink of a semi-finals spot as they defeated Ireland 11-2 with Enrique Zorita, Ignacio Abajo and Juan Muñoz all scoring twice.</p>



<p>Germany, meanwhile, also kept up their 100% record with a comfortable win over Switzerland with Nik Kerner to the fore. He scored inside 90 seconds and they quickly built a 4-0 lead and while the Swiss pegged them back a few times, the hosts – in front of a lively crowd – were never overly in danger.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-heidelberg-erupts-as-germany-run-up-13">Heidelberg erupts as Germany run up 13 </h3>



<p>A last minute Lukas Plochý penalty stroke saw Czechia grind out their second win of Pool A as they defeated Türkiye 5-4. The Turks needed a win to avoid relegation and they were twice level – at 3-3 and 4-4 – in Q4 but could not do more with their six penalty corners to get the result they needed.</p>



<p>Austria then picked up a hugely significant 4-3 win over Poland to move top of the group with one set of matches to go.</p>



<p>It was their best performance to date, racing into a 2-0 lead and they never let the Poles settle into a tempo. Each time Poland got a goal back, the Austrian response was instant with Fülöp Losonci’s second goal and a neat Sebastian Eitenberger goal keeping them out of range.</p>



<p>Gracjan Jarzyński’s brilliant goal in the last minute raised brief hopes of nicking a draw as Jacek Kurowski hit the post in the last play.</p>



<p>Austria sit on seven points ahead of their game with Portugal while Poland and Czechia – both on six points – face a straight battle for a semi-final spot.</p>



<p>In Pool B, Switzerland recovered from a two-goal deficit to beat Ireland 6-3, showing their composure and know-how to see off the newcomers.</p>



<p>Craig Mackay and Ollie Kidd had Ireland in the ascendancy in the first quarter but the Swiss capitalised on defensive errors to swap the lead in Q3 through Elias Brönnimann.</p>



<p>Greg Williams did level once more but the Swiss netted three in the final quarter for victory that assures they stay up.</p>



<p>Germany then swept aside the challenge of Belgium to assure their place – and Spain’s – in the semi-finals, blowing away their opponent in Q1.</p>



<p>Quickfire goals from Sten Brandenstein, Nicolas Proske and Luca Grossmann made it 3-0 and Proske and Nik Kerner extended the advantage to five by the 12<sup>th</sup> minute.</p>



<p>From there, it was no way back for the Indoor Red Lions as the hosts ran out big winners 13-2 in the final reckoning.</p>


Germany and Spain stamp semi-final ticket as Pool A set for big Czech-Polish showdown


<p>Poland and Spain made the big moves on day one of the men’s EuroHockey Indoor Championship in Heidelberg as they both won twice in their respective pools.</p>



<p>Türkiye, meanwhile, produced one of the moments of the day when they struck in the last five seconds to draw with world number one side Austria. It was their first ever point in this level of competition.</p>



<p>Ireland were the other debutant and had their moments against Belgium and Germany but ultimately came away with two defeats.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-early-statements">Early statements</h3>



<p>2024 finalists Poland put in a composed performance to start the tournament, a 5-1 win over newcomers Türkiye with two goals each from Gracjan Jarzýnski and Eryk Bembenek.</p>



<p>A last minute Josef Toms goal saw Czechia produce an amazing comeback from 3-0 down to defeat Portugal 4-3 in the other game in Pool A.</p>



<p>Two David Franco efforts in the first 13 minutes and another from Laurens Halfmann has Portugal flying high and looking confident. They hit the crossbar as well seconds before Lukas Plochý got the Czechs on the scoreboard with 17 minutes left.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="eurohockeytv.org" target="_blank" rel=" noreferrer noopener"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="179" src="https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/EHTV-pass-1024x179.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-6879" srcset="https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/EHTV-pass-1024x179.jpeg 1024w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/EHTV-pass-300x53.jpeg 300w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/EHTV-pass-768x134.jpeg 768w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/EHTV-pass-1536x269.jpeg 1536w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/EHTV-pass-1x1.jpeg 1w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/EHTV-pass-200x35.jpeg 200w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/EHTV-pass-500x88.jpeg 500w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/EHTV-pass.jpeg 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a></figure>



<p>He got another within seconds and Jakub Homolka levelled in Q4 before Toms won the day.</p>



<p>In Pool B, Ireland got off to a dream start but ultimately could not see things through as Philippe Simar inspired Belgium to a 5-3 win.</p>



<p>Goals from Greg Williams and Ross Canning gave the Irish – in their top division debut – a 2-0 advantage at half-time. But Simar’s hat trick, bringing his international goal tally to 80 in 30 games, turned the tide in the second half.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-poland-and-spain-double-up">Poland and Spain double-up</h3>



<p>Later in the day, the Poles ensured they topped Pool A overnight as they held off Portugal 5-3. It was built around four first half goals with Bembenek netting two of them to build a 4-0 lead.</p>



<p>Rodrigo Castro’s buzzer-beater saw Portugal get some hope on half-time and while he and Laurens Halfmann scored in the second half, they never got within range of Poland.</p>



<p>Türkiye then produced a chaotic draw against world number one side Austria, Celal Aydin scoring with less then five seconds to go to snatch their first point in the top division.</p>



<p>The Turks had led 2-0 through Sait Kalkan and Ali Akin Özkilic only for three Austrian goals in the space of 75 seconds in Q4 swapped the lead. The Turks equalised but Nikolas Wellan’s second of the evening looked to have won the points until Aydin’s late piledriver.</p>



<p>Back in Pool B and Spain got their second win of the day from a crazy final quarter rollercoaster, beating Belgium 6-5. The Spaniards were never behind, leading 1-0 at half-time through Pablo Roman and 2-0 with 12 minutes left.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="683" src="https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/FU1_1727-20260108-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-6976" srcset="https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/FU1_1727-20260108-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/FU1_1727-20260108-300x200.jpg 300w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/FU1_1727-20260108-768x512.jpg 768w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/FU1_1727-20260108-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/FU1_1727-20260108-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/FU1_1727-20260108-1x1.jpg 1w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/FU1_1727-20260108-200x133.jpg 200w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/FU1_1727-20260108-500x333.jpg 500w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Germany &#8211; EuroHockey Indoor Championship Men 2026
07 Belgium v Spain (Pool B)
Picture: Fans celebrates victory 

COPYRIGHT WORLDSPORTPICS FRANK UIJLENBROEK
No archive allowed</figcaption></figure>



<p>Philippe Simar quickly changed things, equalising for 2-2 in Q4; they traded more goals for 3-3, 4-4 and 5-5 before Ignacio Abajo won it in dying moments.</p>



<p>In the final game of the day, Germany overcame a stubborn Irish side, eventually shaking off the newcomers 7-3 with Luca Grossmann scoring a hat trick.</p>



<p>They built an early two-goal lead but Ireland kept fighting back, reducing the margin to 3-2 at half-time and 4-3 with six minutes to go before Grossmann and Anton Pöhling made the game safe.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-thursday-results">Thursday results</h3>



<figure class="wp-block-table"><table class="has-fixed-layout"><thead><tr><th>Time</th><th>Teams</th><th>Title</th><th>Scoreline</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>09:30</td><td><a href="https://tms.fih.ch/matches/21048">POL &#8211; TUR</a></td><td>Pool A</td><td>5 &#8211; 1</td></tr><tr><td>10:55</td><td><a href="https://tms.fih.ch/matches/21049">CZE &#8211; POR</a></td><td>Pool A</td><td>4 &#8211; 3</td></tr><tr><td>12:20</td><td><a href="https://tms.fih.ch/matches/21050">BEL &#8211; IRL</a></td><td>Pool B</td><td>5 &#8211; 3</td></tr><tr><td>13:45</td><td><a href="https://tms.fih.ch/matches/21051">SUI &#8211; ESP</a></td><td>Pool B</td><td>1 &#8211; 7</td></tr><tr><td>16:00</td><td><a href="https://tms.fih.ch/matches/21052">POL &#8211; POR</a></td><td>Pool A</td><td>5 &#8211; 3</td></tr><tr><td>17:25</td><td><a href="https://tms.fih.ch/matches/21053">AUT &#8211; TUR</a></td><td>Pool A</td><td>4 &#8211; 4</td></tr><tr><td>18:50</td><td><a href="https://tms.fih.ch/matches/21054">BEL &#8211; ESP</a></td><td>Pool B</td><td>5 &#8211; 6</td></tr><tr><td>20:15</td><td><a href="https://tms.fih.ch/matches/21055">GER &#8211; IRL</a></td><td>Pool B</td><td>7 &#8211; 3</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-friday-schedule"><strong>Friday schedule</strong></h3>



<figure class="wp-block-table"><table class="has-fixed-layout"><thead><tr><th>Time</th><th>Teams</th><th>Title</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>10:00</td><td><a href="https://tms.fih.ch/matches/21056">POR &#8211; TUR</a></td><td>Pool A</td></tr><tr><td>11:20</td><td><a href="https://tms.fih.ch/matches/21057">CZE &#8211; AUT</a></td><td>Pool A</td></tr><tr><td>12:40</td><td><a href="https://tms.fih.ch/matches/21058">ESP &#8211; IRL</a></td><td>Pool B</td></tr><tr><td>14:00</td><td><a href="https://tms.fih.ch/matches/21059">SUI &#8211; GER</a></td><td>Pool B</td></tr><tr><td>16:15</td><td><a href="https://tms.fih.ch/matches/21060">TUR &#8211; CZE</a></td><td>Pool A</td></tr><tr><td>17:35</td><td><a href="https://tms.fih.ch/matches/21061">POL &#8211; AUT</a></td><td>Pool A</td></tr><tr><td>18:55</td><td><a href="https://tms.fih.ch/matches/21062">IRL &#8211; SUI</a></td><td>Pool B</td></tr><tr><td>20:15</td><td><a href="https://tms.fih.ch/matches/21063">BEL &#8211; GER</a></td><td>Pool B</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>


Turkish delight as Poland and Spain double-up on opening day in Heidelberg


<p><strong>Men’s EuroHockey Indoor Championship II-B (Oslo, Norway) – January 9 to 11, 2026</strong></p>



<p>Norway will host a men’s EuroHockey Indoor Championship competition for the first time as II-B comes to the Klemetsrudhallen this weekend.</p>



<p>Six teams are competing in a single-group round-robin event with the winner earning promotion to the championship in 2027.</p>



<p>For the world ranked 43 host nation, they are playing in the third Euro indoors following a 2010 Challenge II in Rouen and then their fifth place finish in Paredes in 2024 in II-A.</p>



<p>The side is heavily based locally with four players from Oslo SK and three from the MASK club in Mortensrud.</p>



<p>Nicolai Leege (Marienthaler THC), Fredrik Helgetveit (TTK Sachsenwald) and Alexander Johnsen (Cambridge City) have experience beyond Norway while Arunpreet Singh Garcha was the top scorer in the Elite series last year. He returns to the international fold after a number of years away.</p>



<p>Greece (WR: 40) were seventh in Budapest in 2024 and will be seeking to move up the ranks with some new faces in their line-up.</p>



<p>They will feature five debutants with Cedwyn and Llewellyn Hochhauser, Elias Diringer, Paris Welzel and Konstantin von der Mülbe among the newcomers. Stavros Sideridis is the most experienced player, lining out for his fourth Euro campaign.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="635" src="https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Greece-1024x635.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-6967" srcset="https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Greece-1024x635.jpeg 1024w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Greece-300x186.jpeg 300w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Greece-768x476.jpeg 768w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Greece-1536x953.jpeg 1536w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Greece-1x1.jpeg 1w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Greece-200x124.jpeg 200w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Greece-500x310.jpeg 500w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Greece.jpeg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



<p><em>Greece</em></p>



<p>Italy – world ranked 27 – are a highly rated side and are looking to return to top division for first time since 2010  having just missed out on promotion in 2024 in Budapest to Türkiye.</p>



<p>In the lead-up, they produced strong performances in Ourense, beating Portugal twice with healthy margins to show their quality.</p>



<p>Teenagers Valerio Iossa, Giovanni Faggian and Gabriel Iossa are three rising stars in quite an experienced line-up in which captain Mattia Amorsini – now with DTV Hannover – will be a key figure.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="531" src="https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Italy-1024x531.png" alt="" class="wp-image-6971" srcset="https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Italy-1024x531.png 1024w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Italy-300x156.png 300w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Italy-768x399.png 768w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Italy-1x1.png 1w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Italy-200x104.png 200w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Italy-500x259.png 500w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Italy.png 1480w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



<p><em>Italy</em></p>



<p>Livewire Marcello Succi has scored 20 goals in his 11 indoor internationals.</p>



<p>Lithuania – ranked 39<sup>th</sup> – were third in Paredes in 2024, their best ever performances in Euro men’s competition and they arrive in Norway with a squad hailing from four separate cities: Vilnius, Rudamina, Širvintos and Šiauliai.</p>



<p>Povilas Sinkevičius,  Rafal Stankevič and captain Andžej Burkot all currently play for clubs in Belgium while Mantvydas Pocevičius was recently named player of the tournament in the LZRF Cup final for HC Siauliai last month.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="768" src="https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Lithiania-1024x768.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-6968" srcset="https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Lithiania-1024x768.jpeg 1024w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Lithiania-300x225.jpeg 300w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Lithiania-768x576.jpeg 768w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Lithiania-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Lithiania-1x1.jpeg 1w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Lithiania-200x150.jpeg 200w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Lithiania-500x375.jpeg 500w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Lithiania.jpeg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



<p><em>Lithuania</em></p>



<p>Sweden (unranked) are back in Euro indoor action for the first time since 2016. Back then, they played in the top tier in Prague where they finished in eigith place.</p>



<p>As such, they have an entirely new side with a wide range of ages with young players starting out combined with more experienced players and coach.</p>



<p>Their representation is spread from across the clubs in Sweden with five players from Partille, four from Valhalla, one each from Roslagens, Stockholm Lions and Nayan Lund.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="819" src="https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Sweden-1024x819.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-6969" srcset="https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Sweden-1024x819.jpeg 1024w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Sweden-300x240.jpeg 300w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Sweden-768x614.jpeg 768w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Sweden-1536x1228.jpeg 1536w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Sweden-1x1.jpeg 1w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Sweden-200x160.jpeg 200w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Sweden-500x400.jpeg 500w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Sweden.jpeg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



<p><em>Sweden</em></p>



<p>Ukraine (WR: 23) were relegated from the top division in 2024 in 10<sup>th</sup> place overall and so will be keen to try and fight for a place back at the top level.</p>



<p>They have nine of the team which lined out two years ago including captain Dmytro Luppa who has been part of the international setup for over 15 years.</p>



<p>The powerful Yurii Dzemukh, Oleksandr Boiko and goalkeeper Bohdan Yurkov are all set for their first senior international indoor tournament.</p>



<p><strong>Friday, January 9 &#8211; match schedule</strong></p>



<figure class="wp-block-table"><table class="has-fixed-layout"><thead><tr><th>Time</th><th>Teams</th><th>Title</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>10:30</td><td><a href="https://tms.fih.ch/matches/21531">UKR &#8211; SWE</a></td><td>Pool A</td></tr><tr><td>12:00</td><td><a href="https://tms.fih.ch/matches/21532">LTU &#8211; GRE</a></td><td>Pool A</td></tr><tr><td>13:30</td><td><a href="https://tms.fih.ch/matches/21533">ITA &#8211; NOR</a></td><td>Pool A</td></tr><tr><td>16:00</td><td><a href="https://tms.fih.ch/matches/21534">SWE &#8211; LTU</a></td><td>Pool A</td></tr><tr><td>17:30</td><td><a href="https://tms.fih.ch/matches/21535">ITA &#8211; GRE</a></td><td>Pool A</td></tr><tr><td>19:00</td><td><a href="https://tms.fih.ch/matches/21536">UKR &#8211; NOR</a></td><td>Pool A</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="682" src="https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/1000014616-1-1024x682.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-6966" srcset="https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/1000014616-1-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/1000014616-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/1000014616-1-768x511.jpg 768w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/1000014616-1-1x1.jpg 1w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/1000014616-1-200x133.jpg 200w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/1000014616-1-500x333.jpg 500w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/1000014616-1.jpg 1280w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



<p><em>Ukraine</em></p>


Category: EuroHockey Indoor Championships 2026