A number of nations are set to break new ground this week as seven teams all vye for a top-two spot from the men’s EuroHockey Championship Qualifier II in Helsinki, Finland from Thursday to Sunday.
The expansion of the top tier to 12 teams means there is now an opening for each side to make history and qualify for the second tier Championship II in 2027.
For Greece, Luxembourg and Lithuania, it would be a first time playing at that level while for hosts Finland, Gibraltar, Hungary and Malta, their only appearance was in the 1970s when the format saw just a single division deployed.
Men’s EuroHockey Championship Qualifier II (July 9-12) – Helsinki, Finland
Pool A: Hungary, Lithuania, Luxembourg
Pool B: Finland, Gibraltar, Greece, Malta
This competition sees the sides initially play in round-robin group matches from which the winner will be assured of a place in Sunday’s final and, with it, qualification for Championship II.
The Finnish hosts are in Pool B and are excited to host the joint event alongside the women’s competition.
Their head coach Elliot Steedman is pleased with his line-up and looking forward to the challenge.
“This year the competition for playing places has been tougher than before which has encouraged the players to perform even better,” he said.
“The team is very similar to the one that played in Türkiye last summer. This year we will have Willem Danhieux , who was injured last year, young Noa Sallinen will make his debut and Ari Laiho-Passols will return to the national team after a few years off.
“All players bring their own contribution to our fantastic team environment, which combines experience and the energy of young players.”
The goals for the home tournament are high.
“I expect that we will offer Finns performances that the nation can be proud of. I hope that our successes will raise the profile of field hockey in Finland. We had a great start to our journey in Türkiye last year, and now it is time to take the next step forward.”
The head coach also hopes for strong public support in Helsinki: “We really hope that as many people as possible will come to cheer on Finland and give us a strong home advantage. It would help the team immensely, and we appreciate it very much.”
The Türkiye tournament he references is Championship III where five of this week’s competitors were also involved.
His side ended in fifth place while Pool B rivals Malta were in sixth. From Pool A, Lithuania ended in third spot and Hungary were seventh.
Greece, meanwhile, will play their first EHC outdoor event since 2013 when they won Championship IV. They do so with a side using a healthy dose of their diaspora who did well on their indoor return in January in Oslo.
Gibraltar will also be a lively presence having finished in 3rd place in 2023 in Skierniewice in Championship III.
For Malta, they are hoping their pre-event training camp in Sicily will serve them well with coach Chris Attard saying to the Maltese press he is content with the cohesion his side has shown in the build-up, “delivering disciplined and encouraging performances”.
In Pool A, Lithuania’s have beaten both Luxembourg (3-1) and Hungary (7-2) in the past two years and so they look to have the pre-event favourites’ tag but both their rivals will be going for a breakthrough success of their own.
