Girls EuroHockey U18 Championship II (Glasgow, Scotland)
Glasgow awaits for the girls EuroHockey U18 Championship II which runs from July 13th to 19th with eight sides vying for possible promotion.
The eight-team event is split into two initial groups of four with hosts Scotland in Pool A with Czechia, Switzerland and Wales while Pool B has Austria, Ireland, Lithuania and Türkiye.
All will aim for a top two finish and a potential semi-final spot while the bottom two in each group go to the relegation pool. Overvall, the two finalists will earn promotion for their country to 2027 while eighth place will be relegated. Read on to find out more about each team below.
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Pool A: Czechia, Scotland, Switzerland, Wales
Hosts Scotland will be hoping to bounce straight back up to the top division following relegation in Crefeld in 2023.
Their panel are on a winning streak with two series clean sweeps against Wales and Ulster in recent weeks preparing the talented young squad for their quest for the gold medal in Glasgow.
Their side has a strong Watsonians-influence with seven players hailing from the club who won the Scottish women’s title this season. Chief among them is Jessica Garden who has been involved in four Euro club events over the past two years while Tabitha Peck and Emily Cowie played in the Club Trophy in Rakovnik, winning silver in April.
They open their campaign against Czechia who completed their preparations for the competition with a strong series against Austria, drawing one and winning the other of two games with Ellie Schilders scoring twice in the latter.
Reflecting on the series, coach Martin Capouch said: “I consider those matches to be the most valuable thing we can have in preparation. It’s a big test for us to see if the training we have is effective and if we’re moving somewhere. At the same time, these were the last friendly matches before the European Championship in Scotland.
“Our group at the European Championship is not easy at all, but the primary goal is certainly to advance to the semi-finals. After achieving this goal, we will certainly aim even higher. We would like to take a peek among the elite in Europe in the coming years.”
Adéla Uhrová is the most experienced plater in the panel having played at this level in 2023 in Zagreb while she has also played in the Indoor Club Cup and the Euro Hockey League with Slavia Prague in 2025 to date.
Switzerland finished in fourth place in II-A in Zagreb in 2023, matching their highest finish at this level since 2002. They will enjoy some experience from that former event with Anne Bohrer, captain Sanne Meuwsen, Iona Poisson, Lia Gasser, Tabea Schorno and Maya Flury all eligible again.
Their preparations centred around a three-match series with France in which they pushed hard against the top division side. They ended with three losses, closing with a 4-3 result, but head coach Mathias Schaeben was satisfied: “The series was a success for us. The team improved from game to game, embraced the high tempo and showed that we can compete at this level.”
For Wales, they were runners-up in Swansea two years ago to Poland, seeing them miss out on promotion by one spot.
Speaking ahead of this tournament, coach Chris Davis shared: “After months of hard work, dedication and development, we are pleased to be taking this squad to the Euros.
“From intense training camps to competitive matches, all the hard work has been a build-up to the Euros and I am excited to see what we can do as a team.”
Captain Ella Graham, goalkeeper Mia James and Olivia Forey are all returnees from two years ago with the latter also bringing EuroHockey experience from two indoor club tournaments with Swansea in Cambrai and Vienna.
Pool B: Austria, Ireland, Lithuania, Türkiye
Austria return to the second tier following their debut in the top division in 2023 when they ended in ninth place in Crefeld. Captain Philippa Proksch created a little piece of history back then when she scored the first Red Foxes goal on that stage and she – as a senior international and Under-21 indoor Euro gold medalist – will be key to their chances.
Louise Pelz and goalkeepers Elena Lendl and Sofie Draxler were also part of that Under-21 success in January in Poland while Camilla Pereira, Lendl and Anna Damm were in Crefeld two years ago.
Ireland are another side who drop down from the first division after an eighth place finish in Crefeld two years ago.
The side features Erin Pim, the younger sister of Anna who won the EuroHockey Youth Leadership Festival in 2023. Mollie Lennon played for Loreto in the Club Trophy in Rakovnik earlier this year while Isobel Field will play in her second European Under-18 competition having played in Crefeld.
In their preparations, the highlight was a 5-1 win over Australia in Hannover while they played 3-1 defeats to Germany and the Netherlands.
Türkiye are playing at this level for just the second time and are hoping they can land their first ever win. In 2023, they ended third out of three at Championship II-B in Swansea, getting closer to a result as each game went on.
This year’s captain Buse Şahiner scored her side’s first ever goal in the second tier and she is one six players still eligible from that vintage.
Lithuania, meanwhile, are pursuing a place in the top tier since 2009 in Nivelles. Last time around, they came in third place in Zagreb and seven of their panel return for a second Under-18 competition.
This includes Deimantė Vietrinaitė who netted twice in Swansea, a tournament in which they went unbeaten but draws with Italy, Switzerland and Czechia denied them a spot further up the rankings.
