Wales will meet Scotland in Glasgow while France face Poland to decide the winners of the EuroHockey Championship qualifiers and the tickets to next summer’s main event in Mönchengladbach next year.
EuroHockey Championship Qualifier A (Glasgow, Scotland)
Wales put in a superb performance to defeat Czechia 4-0 and advance to the final in Glasgow at the Women’s EuroHockey Qualifiers.
Early pressure led to captain Elizabeth Bingham converting after an initially saved strike with a rebound off the keeper. As the rain began to fall, the Welsh gained more control of the game with a neat deflection into the bottom left from Olivia Hoskins.
Czechia did cause plenty of problems but Wales were further clear from their fourth penalty corner, a powerful drag flick by Amy Cradden. Olivia Hoskins scored into an empty net.
Sarah Robertson’s single goal earned Scotland their place in the final, her corner rebound from the injector’s spot deciding a 1-0 win over Austria.
Both sides had chances in the first quarter and the temperature amped up a further notch in the second quarter. Scotland looked to take advantage but were unable to capitalise on the overload of players as both teams struggled to build a rhythm.
They had five corners repelled by Stella van Rahden being forced to make three consecutive saves while Johanna Czech’s running thwarted other openings; 0-0 at half-time.
Into the second half Scotland finally converted a corner at the 10th attempt with captain Robertson finding the finish on a rebound.
Heading into the final quarter, Austria started to play with greater offensive intent. An early break threatened to even the score before a second attack from Czech flew across the face of goal.
It was their best chance and Scotland were able to hold firm and record the win.
It puts them through to the final against Wales for a ticket to Mönchengladbach next summer while the third place will be decided between Austria and Czechia who already have a Championship II spot confirmed.
| 12:00 | Czechia v Wales | SF1 | 0 – 4 |
| 14:30 | Scotland v Austria | SF2 | 1 – 0 |
Sunday Schedule
| 11:00 | Austria v Czechia | 3rd/4th Place | – |
| 13:15 | Scotland v Wales | Final | – |
EuroHockey Championship Qualifier B (Douai, France)
France delighted their home crowd with a 3-2 win over Ukraine in Douai and put them within one win of the EuroHockey Championships next summer.
Gabrielle Verrier’s corner rebound gave them a dream start in the sixth minute and Mathilde Duffrene doubled the advantage from a heavily deflected set piece in the second quarter.
Ukraine cut the gap early in the second half via Anastasiia Voievoda with a neat touch to Karyna Leonova’s left wing cross – after a French penalty stroke miss – but Delfina Gaspari’s tip-in from Yohanna Lhopital’s cross made it 3-1.
Voievoda kept them game alive with the 3-2 goal with 11 minutes left but they could not force an equaliser in the closing minutes.
In the first semi-final, Poland defeated highest-ranked Italy following a scoreless draw which was eventually decided by a shoot-out.
There, goals from Julia Balcerzak and Amelia Katerla along with a Marta Kucharska save gave the Poles an initial 2-1 lead after two rounds.
Kucharska was also unbeaten in rounds three; Daria Skoraszeska stepped forward to make it 3-1 and then Kucharska denied yet another attempt to confirm the victory.
Sunday opens with Türkiye up against Switzerland for fifth place, bringing with it the last spot at next summer’s Championship II for the winner.
The third place playoff features Italy and Ukraine before the final sees hosts France up against Poland.
| 12:00 | Italy v Poland | SF1 | 0 – 0 (1 – 3 SO) |
| 14:15 | France v Ukraine | SF2 | 3 – 2 |
Sunday schedule
| 09:30 | Türkiye v Italy | 5th/6th Place | – |
| 11:45 | Italy v Ukraine | 3rd/4th Place | – |
| 14:00 | Poland v France | Final | – |
