Men’s EuroHockey Championship II-A preview
Paredes in Portugal welcomes five nations for a unique men’s EuroHockey Championship II-A tournament with the hosts not present this time out for the event which runs from Friday, February 2nd to Sunday, February 4th.
It is because Portugal received a late invitation – as the next best-ranked side – to step up to the top division in place of the withdrawn Netherlands.
As such, it means there are five teams competing, all hoping to land the top spot and potential promotion to the A division. Denmark enter as favourites, ranked 33rd in the world and having defeated Ireland and Cyprus in 2022.
There are wildcards, though, with Lithuania and Norway making their return to the international stage for the first time in well over a decade.
Denmark (World Ranking: 33)
Denmark has prepared with training sessions throughout the autumn and most recently with participation at the Mason Cup at the beginning of January, giving five good training matches and even a victory in the final.
This time, the team consists of a sensible mix of several seasoned forces such as experienced (and top scorer at the last EC in Cyprus) Jesper Jonassen and Tobias Grand as well as a young litter of which five of them were on the Under-21 team in Czechia last year – led by the talented Magnus Thorsted , Hector Nørgaard, and 17-year-old Oliver Sørensen
The team is led by Dutch Peter Kalfsterman together with Jonas Graversen. They are excited to get started and hope to play for the fun spots and maybe even for the promotion spot.
Ireland (World Ranked: 39)
Ireland travels to Portugal with high hopes of keeping the momentum going since their return to European indoor international competition in 2020.
They took a third-place finish in 2022 in Cyprus and will be looking to close the gap on Denmark who defeated them 6-2 in the round-robin phase back then after comfortable wins over Cyprus and Serbia.
Ross Canning is their most experienced campaigner with goalkeeper Stephen O’Keeffe the other ever present in tournament settings. Other than that, they have former South African international outdoor player Jody Hosking to provide dynamism in midfield while his Three Rock Rovers club captain James Walker is often a key source of goals from play.
Greg Williams and Scott McCabe both recently impressed at the Mason Cup with a development side and move up to the senior line-up for debuts as will Neil Byrne and Craig Mackay.
Cyprus (World Ranked: 41)
Cyprus brings a side with each player having a few caps under their belt – both outdoor and indoor – all crucial to their mission. Their preparations, though, have been limited with everyone scattered around different parts of the world, it has been difficult to meet and train frequently.
Indeed, they sit it as a rebuilding phase but the boys have a strong connection as a team and have played with each other for years.
“We want to have a good showing, be competitive as always and enjoy our time on and off the pitch with each other.”
Lithuania (World Ranking: n/a)
Lithuania comes into the competition with a completely new side to the international stage with each player making their senior debut this weekend. Indeed, this will be their first appearance since 2006 so this will be a big journey into the unknown.
They came together in Vilnius recently for a training camp and have selected a quartet of players from Šiauliai “Ginstrektė”, three from Širvintos “Baltic Champs”, three from Vilnius HC “Žuvėdra and two VRSM. They are coached Donata Grigiene who recently was included in the latest intake of the EuroHockey Coaches of Europe.
It is a mostly aged under 23 looking to build their game for the future.
Norway (World Ranking: n/a)
Norway will play in their first EuroHockey indoor international tournament since 2010 when they finished fourth in Rouen. As such, they have named a panel with a mix of ages with the initial panel ranging from 15-year-old Hannan Dar up to 39-year-old goalkeeper Shahzad Ali.
Furuset LHC provides some of the key players to the line-up like Mohammad Khidash Kiyani.
Follow the game results here
