Men’s EuroHockey Indoor Championship II-A (Sveti Ivan Zelina, Croatia) – January 9 to 11, 2026
Croatia will look to use the inspiration of the home crowd to help them bounce back up to the top tier as they host the men’s EuroHockey Championship II-A tournament in Sveti Ivan Zelina.
The five-team, second tier competition runs from Friday to Sunday with an initial round-robin phase from which the top two will play in a final while third and fourth will contest a bronze medal match.
The world number 11 side are the hot favourites, particularly with the 2024 player of the tournament from Leuven – Anže Fujs – and the coaching of German legend Moritz Fürste on the sidelines.
Further star men include Lucas Bachmann, a German champion from Crefelder HTC, and the captain Mario Mucić, a former KHC Leuven player.
Last weekend, they reached the final of the Röhrmax Cup in Vienna with wins over USA and Switzerland while they also impressed at last year’s World Cup with their only defeats coming against sides who finished in the top five.
In addition, they played test matches with four Hamburg clubs and had further preparations in Zelina where the team also encountered the team of Ukraine for three matches. Their objective is clear: “Return to Top division of European Hockey”.
The next highest ranked side is Denmark (world rank: 30) who are seeking a return to the top division for an eighth time, their last appearance coming in 2018 in Antwerp.
They just missed out on promotion in 2024 at the hands of Ireland due to two late goals in the final (3-1); they did pick up a couple of wins over the Irish in a four-game warm-up series in December.
They subsequently won the Mason Cup with four wins out of four at Orient Lyngby with Hector Nørgaard named player of the tournament.
** Magnus Thorsted celebrates a goal against Ireland. Picture: Lasse Steinmetz
The squad is built around a strong core from the Danish champions Slagelse, well supplemented by, among others, goalkeeper Alfred Kramer, who is playing his fourth Championsship and the team’s captain Jesper Jonassen, whose extensive experience and leadership help drive the young team forward.
On this occasion, two debutants have made their way into the squad: goalkeeper Anton Birch-Hald and 16-year-old Julius Lund. Both, along with the rest of the team, have extensive experience from U21 final tournaments, and several of the young players have also previously gained experience at senior national team championships.
The team is led by the experienced Peter Kalfstermann, strongly assisted by Jonas Graversen.
Slovakia (WR: 33) were third in Championship II-B two years ago, beating this weekend’s opponents Bulgaria and Hungary with something to spare.
Adrián Augustinič scored 14 times in that series and he is one of nine returning players from their 2024 campaign. Michal Blazovsky, Šimon Belošovic and Matuš Kajaba are in line for debuts.
Slovakia following their bronze medal in Budapest in 2024
Hungary (WR: 41) were fourth in Budapest two years ago and coach Marcell Alló is looking to push higher this year with an injection of fresh faces.
“The squad has become even younger compared to the summer, half of which are made up of guys who played in last year’s U21 European Championship,” the coach said following a training camp.
“We can realistically set a goal of playing in the bronze medal match, but of course we won’t go into the field with our hands up against anyone. We’ll have our chances, if we work for luck and the ball bounces in our direction, we can achieve a nice position.”
** Hungary
Bulgaria (WR: 44) ended in fifth place in 2024 in Budapest in their first appearance in the second tier of European competition, picking up a win in their final game against Greece.
That was with a side primarily aged between 16 and 20 – only two players were outside this age bracket – and so the extra two years have given them a chance to evolve and develop.
This year’s side has a far older age profile with a number of more experienced players coming back into their line-up.
** Click here to follow the live scores from the event
Friday, January 9 match schedule
Bulgaria
