Two of the big guns were held to draws on a lively opening day of the women’s EuroHockey Indoor Championship 2026 at the UNYP Arena in Prague.
Switzerland struck late to tie with Germany while Spain made two big comebacks to pick up four points, gaining a draw against world champions Poland.
Belgium and Spain win morning thrillers
Belgium began the day in Pool A by holding on for a 4-3 win over Switzerland in the face of a fierce comeback. Two Daphne Gose-Claessens goals and one from Claire Barry had the red panthers leading 3-0 after four minutes.
But a pair of Sofie Stomps corners and Leonor Berlie’s goal in the closing minutes saw the Swiss make it tight all the way to the final whistle.
Ireland’s return to the top division after 36-years proved a tough one as they went down 6-0 to reigning champions Germany with Maike Scheuer and Fenja Poppe scoring two each.
In Pool B, Spain fought back from 2-0 and 3-2 down to beat Ukraine and get their campaign off to a winning start with a 4-3 result. Olha Honcharenko’s composed finishes when one-on-one put Ukraine up and Karyna Leonova’s battling interception and spin put them ahead in Q3.
But Olympia Marta Grau completed a late hat trick with goals in the 35th and 37th minutes for the victory.
Poland eased by the challenge of promoted Lithuania with four first half goals helping them to a 6-0 victory.
Triebold’s last minute stunner
In the evening session in Pool A, Switzerland recorded their first ever draw with Germany in the EuroHockey Indoor Championships with Raffaela Triebold’s last minute equaliser making it 5-5.
The Swiss had led three times and Sarah Zepf put them 4-2 up with just over 10 minutes to go. Germany rallied to lead 5-4 with Philine Drumm scoring in the 39th minute to seemingly rescue a win but the Swiss replied once again for a famous result.
Austria then entered the stage with an 8-0 win over Ireland with six different scorers on the mark.
In Pool B, Spain once again came back from 2-0 down, this time picking up a draw against Poland with a classy goal from Clara Ycart and a fourth of the day from Marta Grau.
After a scoreless first half, Poland built a two-goal lead through Hanna Wochna and Viki Zimmerman.
Czechia ended the day by delighting the home crowd with an entertaining 6-2 win over Lithuania with two goals from debuting Veronika Přibíková.
