Boys EuroHockey U18 Championship II (Alanya, Türkiye)
Alanya welcomes the boys EuroHockey Under-18 Championship II with eight teams battling for the two promotion spots on offer and hoping to avoid the one relegation spot.
It is a tournament which gets underway on Sunday, July 13 and features three sides who were relegated from Crefeld in 2023 along with the best finishers from Championship II-A and II-B.
The latter events were played at an even level as part of the post Covid-19 readjustment of competitions; this year, it is a return to a three-tier format with each country hoping to move up the ladder.
Ireland Italy, Türkiye and Wales are in Pool A with Pool B featuring Austria, Poland, Switzerland and Ukraine. After the round-robin group, the top two will advance to semi-finals while the bottom two go into the relegation pool. Read on to find out more about each team.
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Pool A: Ireland, Italy, Türkiye, Wales
Ireland – the 2002 top-tier champions – are playing in the second tier for the first time since 2013, looking to bounce straight back up following relegation last time around in Crefeld.
They do so with a strong side which features Adam McKee and John Cunningham who both played with the Irish Under-21 side in the EuroHockey Under-21 championships last summer in Terrassa while Milo Thompson recently played with the Irish senior team in a challenge match against India.
They are captained by Rob Olden who scored twice in Crefeld from penalty corners.
Italy were second in Swansea in 2023 and are looking for a return to the top tier for the first time in 2016 off the back of a second division victory in 2015 in Calais.
There is plenty of knowledge in the panel with goalkeeper Mattia Serpelloni, midfielders Francesco Atzori, Leonardo Arzenton, Valerio Iossa and Gabriel Biocca and forward Giacomo Palombi all back for a second appearance at this level.
Iossa is one to watch four goals from four in 2023 as well as featuring for both the Italian Under-21 indoor and outdoor teams in the past year.
Türkiye were second in Alanya in 2023, their best ever finish having never finished above seventh place prior to that. Their two players with prior experience at Under-18 international level are Muhammad Efe (goalkeeper) and Bekir Ciğerli.
For Wales, meanwhile, they are another side looking to make a breakthrough to the top tier; their best was third in 2005 and 2009 while they took fourth in Swansea in 2023.
Morgan Sayce is their returnee while their head coach Mark Ramage says of the side: “I’m incredibly proud of the commitment and determination every player has shown throughout the selection process. Narrowing down the squad was no easy task, but we’re confident that this group has what it takes to represent Wales with pride on the international stage.
“The tournament presents an exciting challenge, and we’re eager to see how the team rises to it. This is a fantastic opportunity for our young athletes to gain invaluable experience, and we’re looking forward to what’s to come.”
Pool B: Austria, Poland, Switzerland, Ukraine
Winners in Vienna in 2021, Austria have what looks like a strong panel with several players from their top division journey two years ago involved once again. They come into the competition off the back of strong preparation wins over Czechia, picking up 7-1 and 7-2 victories.
Julian Kaiser, Vinzent Scheiderbauer and Jakob Bauer were all part of the Under-21 indoor championship side in January and were joined in 2023 by Benedikt Meisel, Arthur Kucera, Theo Morawec and Alexander Spatz.
Seventeen of the 18 panelists hail from clubs in the Vienna area: five from WAC, four from AHTC, three each from HC Wien and SV Arminen and two from Post SV. The one other is Tharuga-Mandinu Munaweera who plays with Harvestehuder THC.
Poland are going for gold for the first time having finished in second place on four previous occasions, most recently in 2021 when they came in just behind Austria.
Henryk Wolsztyński is the one player who returns from Crefeld in 2023; he is one of four players from AZS Poznań University of Technology, the same amount that come from UKS SP5 Swarek Swarzędz.
Ukraine came third in Alanya in 2023, their best performance at this level. Three of their outfit are back for a second campaign, namely Ilha Semchuk, Artem Kapura and captain Dmytro Mykhalchuk.
Switzerland, meanwhile, are yet another side looking to try and win a place in the top division for the first time. They finished in third fourth times (2002, 2007, 2015 and 2023) including two years ago in Swansea.
The team is captained by Maurizio Ribaudo who has had a busy year, playing with the Under-21 indoor side who Euro gold in January. Sebastian Herzog is another who will lean on experience from two years ago.
