Jesse Mahieu’s Dutch Under-21 men’s side will feature seven “new names” as they look to retain the EuroHockey Under-21 Championship in Terrassa.
Thies Bakker, Finn van Bijnen, Tim Knapper, Danilo Trieling, Jens de Vuijst and Matthijs van der Wielen will all make their Jong Oranje debut in this tournament.
As such, for coach Mahieu, he says it is likely to be a hugely competitive competition with Germany – the reigning Junior World Cup winners – and hosts Spain among the sides to watch while his new-look side will look to push them all the way.
“The Germans are world champions. They have big players with senior international matches under their belt,” the coach told hockey.nl.
“They are the obvious favourites for me. Spain will also do well. They play in their own country and have hardly any changes compared to the World Cup, where they came third. If we reach our level and remain stable, we can certainly compete for the prizes.”
He has to cope with a couple of late changes with Pinoké man Boris Aardenburg missing out due to an injured wrist.
“It is, of course, dramatic for him,” Mahieu said of the man . “It is also a great shame and a huge bummer for us. I really wanted him to win the tournament.”
Jacky van Hout – who was a reserve at the Junior World Cup at the end of last year – also misses out due to injury.
“He had problems with his knee,” Mahieu continued. “I didn’t want to risk letting him play five matches in seven days. You don’t do that with a nineteen-year-old player. So we have a number of young lads. They can keep up and it’s also good for the future.”
It means there are five of the panel that won this competition two years ago in Ghent with Pepijn van der Heijden, Casper van der Veen, Daan Taphoorn, Casper Berkman and co-captain Miles Bukkens returning.
Bukkens is a big boost – the senior international missed the Junior World Cup with a knee injury but is fit again this summer to share the leadership duties with Den Bosch defender and drag-flicker Timo Boers.
“They have been with us for a long time’, says Mahieu. “And therefore bring a great experience to the group. We will still decide who will ultimately wear the captain’s armband.”
Midfielder Lucan Veen has won his race against the clock from a broken hand to take his place in the panel.
Tournament History
Best result: Winners – 9 times (1978, 1992, 1996, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2017, 2022)
