Italy’s men will look to draw on a lively welcome to their Roman colosseum at the city’s Olympic training centre as they bid to end a 24-year wait for European top tier hockey.
They are pitted against a well-known rival in Ukraine in the quarter-final of their EuroHockey Championship qualifier on Thursday with both bidding to meet either Czechia or Portugal a day later when a place at EuroChamps27 in London will be on the line.
Today, we look at the second sector on the men’s draw from which that flight to London will be determined.
Every minute of the competition will be broadcast live on www.eurohockeytv.org with weekend passes costing €8.99
** click here to see the match-ups in the other side of the draw
EuroHockey Championship Qualifier I Men 2026 (Rome, Italy)
Thursday (all times local)
Quarter-final 3: Czechia (World ranking: 31) vs Portugal (WR: 57) – 16.15 CET
Czechia travel to Italy in strong spirits after they won all three of their Alps Cup games last weekend, notably defeating Austria (5-3) along with Switzerland (4-3) and Croatia (4-1).
Nonetheless, coach Miroslav Ludvík says there is plenty to work on and there is little scope to relax: ” I see it from two perspectives. Firstly, positively, we were relatively good at the offensive phase and active pressing.
“On the other hand, we need to get into the match much quicker from the start. The problem is the mentality when it sometimes takes us the entire first half to catch the pace. That could be a problem in a tough qualifier.
“In general, however, this team is strong. Last year it stabilized and this year, or rather in the coming period, it should reach its age and character peak. So let’s hope that we will be successful in the upcoming qualifiers in Rome.”
** Portugal against Czechia in 2025’s EuroHockey Championship II. Picture: Antonio Lopes
Lukáš Plochý and Josef Toms were among the goals while Adam Uhliř is a reliable centre-piece to much of their play.
It is a rematch of their EuroHockey Championship II battle in Lousada last summer when the Czechs edged a 2-1 result while Portugal also succumbed on the same scoreline to Italy – a potential semi-final opponent.
They will hand debuts to Emil Gomes and Pedro Monteiro in their bid to qualify for the top tier for the first time since 1974. David Franco captains the side and brings vast experience from 15 years with the panel (91 caps and 31 goals); Tiago Ventosa is a key organiser while Rodrigo Castro is a lively operator in the forward line. Quentin Halfmann played in the Bundesliga this season with Gladbacher HTC.
Quarter-final 4: Italy (WR: 27) vs Ukraine (WR: 29) – 18.30 CET
Two well-known opponents, this will be their ninth competitive meeting in the past 10 years with precious little to separate the sides. Indeed, the Ukrainians won 2023’s Championship II competition in a shoot-out in the semi-final while Italy shaded a 4-3 thriller in 2022’s Euro qualifiers.
Italy’s panel is spread across Europe with Davide Arosio joining newly promoted Dutch side SCHC; Marco Moretto playing with Junior and Joaquin Puglisi with RS Tenis in Spain; Facundo Harte with Rotweiss Wettingen; and there are six players scattered across Belgium.
They mix with players from Tevere EUR, HP Valchisone, HC Bra, SG Amsicora and Lazio HP for a diverse panel intent on ending a long wait – dating back to 2003 – for top tier men’s hockey.
Ukraine have never reached such a stage but did go close in 2024 when they reached the final of their qualifier in Vienna to hosts Austria.
Key to their chances could be Andrii Koshelenko who plays his hockey in Italy with Bra – with the club, he has won both Player of the Tournament and Top Goalscorer at each of the four EuroHockey events he has played. Internationally, he has 81 goals in 71 caps.
They swept to gold at last year’s Championship III, winning the final against Türkiye 9-5 and they will look to bring that attacking accuracy to bear this week.
