Vienna, Austria – EuroHockey Championship Qualifier A (Men)
SV Arminen’s spectacular Waldstadion in the Vienna hills is the venue for the men’s EuroHockey Championship qualifier A with eight teams hoping to do their best to qualify for the upper reaches of Euro competition in 2025.
Austria are the highest ranked side in 19th in the world and they start off their campaign with a contest against Hungary who are returning to tournament action for the first time since 2019.
It follows a well-matched battle between Switzerland and Portugal while Scotland face Croatia and Ukraine meet Lithuania in Thursday’s other quarter-finals.
For each side, the target is the same – the overall winner gets a ticket to next summer’s EuroHockey Championship in Mönchengladbach; second to fifth spot earn a place at Championship II while the remaining sides will go to Championship III.
** Fixtures marked below with a * will now be livestreamed on www.eurohockeytv.org free for all registered users
| Match # | Date/Time | Details | Scoreline |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22 Aug 2024 11:00 | Ukraine v Lithuania (M1) | – |
| 2 | 22 Aug 2024 13:15 | Scotland v Croatia (M2) | – |
| 3* | 22 Aug 2024 15:30 | Switzerland v Portugal (M3) | – |
| 4* | 22 Aug 2024 17:45 | Austria v Hungary (M4) | – |
| 5 | 23 Aug 2024 15:30 | Loser M1 v Loser M2 (5th/8th place (M5)) | – |
| 6 | 23 Aug 2024 17:45 | Loser M4 v Loser M3 (5th/8th place (M6)) | – |
| 7* | 24 Aug 2024 12:00 | Winner M1 v Winner M2 (Semi-final 1) | – |
| 8* | 24 Aug 2024 14:15 | Winner M4 v Winner M3 (Semi-final 2) | – |
| 9 | 25 Aug 2024 09:15 | Loser M5 v Loser M6 (7th/8th place) | – |
| 10 | 25 Aug 2024 11:30 | Winner M5 v Winner M6 (5th/6th place) | – |
| 11* | 25 Aug 2024 13:45 | Loser SF2 v Loser SF1 (3rd/4th place) | – |
| 12* | 25 Aug 2024 16:00 | Winner SF2 v Winner SF1 (Final) | – |
Austria (world ranking 19)
Home hosts Austria rounded out their preparations in Hamburg before returning to Austria where they will be looking to claim a spot in the European top tier in 2025.
They bring a side featuring a number of great players like captain Fabian Unterkircher (HC Den Bosch), Leon Thörnblom (HC Polo Hamburg) and Xaver Hasun (Harvestehuder THC) along with young talents Arthur Kucera, Josef Winkler and Maximilian Kelner.
And it is that new generation with goal machine Michael Körper stepping back from the panel in the wake of last summer’s EuroHockey Championships. The goalkeeping duties are also up for grabs with Mateusz Szymczyk not back in the side since sustaining a knee injury in the indoor Euros in February. At the same tournament, Benjamin Stanzl suffered a complicated tendon tear in his wrist and is also absent due to injury.
And it is that new generation with goal machine Michael Körper stepping back from the panel in the wake of last summer’s EuroHockey Championships while Benjamin Stanzl has done likewise. The goalkeeping duties are also up for grabs with Mateusz Szymczyk not back in the side since sustaining a knee injury in the indoor Euros in February.
Fülöp Losonci is one who can make a big difference in front of goal while there is a healthy number of players from the host club who can make an impact. Goalkeeper Christoph Sandbichler, defender Florian Steyrer, Kelner and Florian Hackl will look forward to seeing plenty of familiar faces on the sidelines.
Their preparation involved three contrasting fixtures against Wales in Cardiff, winning one and losing the other two last week.
Head Coach Robin Rösch on the importance of the qualifier: “I think the tournament is very important for us. We are trying to qualify for the A pool again. We have the best teams from Europe there, with whom we want to compete in order to develop further.
“We are in the midst of a change and are currently undergoing a generational change.
So it is certainly a very special challenge for us, and on the other hand, it is a great incentive for the young people to be able to play in the A pool.”
“We play in the Waldstadion, which is definitely one of the most beautiful facilities in Europe. Together with the new hall, it is a real gem. It may not be that big, but it still has enough space for a few people, which creates a real atmosphere.
“I’m looking forward to the hockey family from Austria coming together. It would of course be nice if we had a home game and friends and family were there to support us loudly. I think the young team can really use this support.”
As for their opening game: “We will certainly be the favorites against Hungary, simply because of our position in the world rankings. But overall we don’t have enough information about Hungary. That’s why we have to approach it as always and focus fully on ourselves. Full concentration on this first game.”
Scotland (world ranking 21)
Scotland’s men are coming into this competition on a high off the back of of a 10-1 win against Czechia, and two hard-fought draws with Poland in challenge matches.
Olympian Lee Morton has been named in the strong squad following his appearance for Great Britain in Paris where he scored three goals. Rob Field – from Holcombe Hockey Club – will captain a team that features a lot of firepower.
The squad also uniquely features three sets of brothers: Cammy and Jamie Golden; Joe and Andy McConnell; and Ali and Calum Douglas.
Head Coach Jonny Caren says of their chances: “I am confident the team we have selected will perform well at the upcoming EuroHockey Qualifiers in Austria. There is great excitement within the group to showcase what we have been working on as a squad over the past 12 months, since last year’s European B Division.
“We have grown a lot both on and off the pitch as a team during this time, which was reflected in how we conducted ourselves in difficult circumstances in Poland, finishing our last preparation game with a 10-1 win against Czechia. It was as close to a complete team performance as a coach could ask for.
“High intensity both in our pressing game and in our build up. Great connections, especially in the final third and rounded off with a clinical performance inside the circle both in open play and in our attacking corners. We will take confidence knowing this performance has come just at the right time.
“As mentioned previously, I can’t thank the greater squad enough for their contribution this year to ensure we have a competitive team primed for competition. Those tasked with this tournament will represent Scotland and their teammates with pride.”
Ukraine (world ranking 31)
Ukraine will be fighting hard to earn a place in the top divisions of European hockey and the omens look good in their quarter-final, meeting a Lithuania side whom they have beaten in each of their last four encounters.
Their only capped matches to date in 2024 were in the Olympic qualifiers in January when they drew with Austria 2-2 but fell to the likes of Japan, Ireland and Belgium in Valencia.
There is, though, plenty of buoyancy off the back of their excellent run to the Championship II final in Dublin last year where they beat Portugal, Italy and Czechia and led the final against Ireland until 10 minutes from the end. It recorded their best ever result in this mode of competition.
Their final preparations saw them share the spoils from a series with Czechia, each side recording a 2-1 win in the first two games before game three was drawn 4-4.
This tournament could see debuts for the likes of Bohdan Yurkov, Vladyslav Cherniuk and Rostyslav Yakovenko while there is vast experience in Vlacheslav Paziuk (age 34, 100 caps), Dmytro Luppa (33, 112 caps) and Iurii Moroz (37, 136 caps).
Key striker Bohdan Kovalenko knows this stage well – he plays his club hockey in Vienna with Post SV.
Switzerland (world ranking 39)
The current Swiss team is in a healthy transition phase with a diverse group and they go into this European Championship Qualifier with confidence.
With players like Fabio Marelli, Fabio Reinhard (who will make the move to UHC Hamburg this summer) and Boris Stomps, there is quite a lot of experience in the national team who can take the team in tow.
On the younger side, they have Loris Grandchamp (21) who was voted Best Player of the U21 EuroHockey Championship II-A tournament in July in Lausanne. After his 10 goals, he played a big part in the tournament victory and qualification for next year’s U21 World Cup in India. He too has a transfer, namely from White Star to Royal Orée in Brussels.
Their preparation has involved training sessions in Switzerland and a training camp in Croatia.
Coach Jaïr Levie says of the challenge in Vienna: “The players of the Swiss national team have already shown a lot of success at different tournaments with different formations this year.
“In the European Indoor Championships, we finished 6th in a strong field, also beating the eventual champion Germany. In Oman, we finished 10th with a great last win over New Zealand [in Hockey 5s]. In July, we took the bronze medal at the Hockey 5s European Championship in Walcz and with the U21, we made history by qualifying for a U21 World Cup for the first time.
“This large group of national team players, can adapt very well to different formations and tournament formats. As a result, we will start this European Championship Qualifier in Vienna with full confidence. We are looking forward to it!”
Croatia (world ranking 41)
Croatia’s panel has made a big shift towards younger players for this tournament with several Under-21 players and only three players from the European Indoor Championship (Leuven) from earlier this year.
Most of the players play in domestic league, while few of them play in Germany and one in Belgium. Captain Mario Mucić will miss the tournament because of injury so the team will be led by Filip Žlimen. The staff continues with its Croatian-Portuguese blend with Nikola Hanžek and Bernardo Fernandes as coaches, Tomislav Barilar as manager, Joao Miguel Freitas and Denis Fikič as video analysts along with a new fitness coach in former national captain Zvonimr Vuk.
After a few preparation periods for earlier competitions were held abroad, their primary preparation period was held 100% in Croatia with six weeks on the pitch and two weeks with the fitness coach.
“With this tournament we tend to establish good basis, to build on in the future,” says coach Hanžek.
They begin with a first meeting with Scotland since 2015 when the Scots won 6-0. Nonetheless, their HAHK Mladost players will know the SV Arminen surroundings well having won indoor club bronze at the same venue in February.
Portugal (world ranking 50)
Portugal are looking to regain a place in at least the second tier of European hockey for just a fourth time when they travel to Vienna this week.
The side features a number of sides plying their trade at various different clubs around Europe. Captain David Franco plays in Germany with Gladbacher HTC while Laurens Halfmann is with Düsseldorfer HC.
Baltazer Portugal (White Star), Bartolomeu Portugal (Uccle Sport), Rodrigo Castro (KHC Leuven), and Tiago Ventosa (Royal Antwerp) are all in Belgium while Luís Pereira (Almere), Fabio Vieira (Reigers MHC) and Ivo Moreira (Venlo) are in the Netherlands.
The remainder of the panel is homebased with three players from Casuals, a couple each from GD Viso and Casa Pia while José Valinhas represents AD Lousada and João Antão is with CF Benfica.
It is a somewhat changed side from last summer’s team who went to Dublin for Championship II. Franco top scored last year with Castro also netting three times – the latter debuted for Portugal aged just 14 and, now 20, is one of their leading lights.
For Halfmann, it will be his first outdoor internationals since confirming for Portugal; he has played with Oranje-Rood and Uhlenhorst Mülheim and impressed for the indoor side in Leuven in February.
Antǎo (aged 17) is another to make his debut along with Diogo Santos. Overall, the panel features eight of the indoor side who finished seventh in Europe in February.
Their first opponent is Switzerland whom they beat 6-4 a year ago in Dublin.
Hungary (world ranking 56)
Hungary are looking to qualify for a first EuroHockey Championship event since 2019 when they won Championship IV in Helsinki.
Ten of their panel for this week’s event in Vienna continue but, since 2019, they have played just five outdoor internationals with a couple of wins over Serbia, one against Slovenia and then a couple of defeats to Croatia in challenge matches.
As such, while the caps totals for each player are quite low, the panel possesses quite a high level of experience with 45-year-old Imre Farkas chief among them.
At the other end of the scale, Thomas van Ofwegen is the one uncapped player in the line-up while 17-year-old Milán Galba is the youngest in the line-up.
The side is captained by Tamás Suba and he will be a key source of goals along with Sebastian Léber. Coach Marcell Állo has overseen their preparations which included a training camp at nearby Wiener-Neudorf to get them used to the Austrian atmosphere.
Lithuania (world ranking 71)
Lithuania are playing their first outdoor internationals following their fifth place finish at last summer’s EuroHockey Championship III in Poland. There, they picked up a big win over Serbia, drew with Malta but succumbed to Gibraltar, Croatia and the host nation.
Arnas Ridlauskas led the way in front of goal with three goals while Povilas Sinkevičius revealed his eye for goal as well.
Since them, their activity has been limited mainly to the shorter formats, ending in third place at the Indoor II-A Euros in Portugal in February and then they got a seventh place finish at the 5s in July in Walcz.
Sinkevičius – now 19 – struck 13 times in that tournament and he was back on the goalscoring trail at Under-21 level in Walcz where he netted nine goals in five games, including four against Poland in a 14-5 defeat. He went on to be named the tournament’s best player.
Their quarter-final against Ukraine is their first meeting since a test match in 2021 when Lithuania succumbed to a 3-2 defeat, the Ukranians fighting back from a 2-0 deficit in the second half.
