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.
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.
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.
Portugal and Austria’s first wins as Germany and Spain keep 100% record
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Heidelberg erupts as Germany run up 13
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Greg Williams did level once more but the Swiss netted three in the final quarter for victory that assures they stay up.
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.
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 12th minute.
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.
