Review of the 2015 U17 European Championships of Rink Hockey in Luso, Portugal

Top 4

1st: Portugal undefeated

It has been the 13th victory of Portugal in 26 participations at the U17 European Championships of Rink Hockey since1981, i.e. one victory every two participations! This year they were the only nation that didn’t lose a single game. Only the Spanish Team managed to counter them in the ultimate game of the tournament, that could have served as the final between the two great nations of European Rink Hockey.

Recap of Portugal’s games

• Spain 1 – 1 Portugal (D1)
• Portugal 7 – 0 Andorre (D1)
• Austria 3 – 12 Portugal (D2)
• Portugal 14 – 0 England (D3)
• Switzerland 2 – 6 Portugal (D3)
• Portugal 3 – 0 Italy (D4)
• Germany 2 – 3 Portugal (D5)
• Portugal 3 – 2 France (D6)
• Spain 1 – 1 Portugal (D7)

2nd: Spain, a whisker away from gold

The young Spanish team almost creates a stir in scoring first against the Portuguese during their last game. The Iberian derby finally turns in favor of the Portuguese.

The first clear attack of the Portuguese is stopped by the Spanish crossbar. The Spanish are threatening but have trouble aligning their shots. They manage to score against their neighbors with a shot by Raul Fernandez two seconds before the break. Frederick Neves draws the scores for Portugal in the middle of the second period.

With 17 gold medals since 1981, Spain still remains the most decorated nation in the U17 category…

Recap of Spain’s games

• Austria 1 – 9 Spain (D1)
• England 0 – 4 Spain (D2)
• Spain 3 – 1 Germany (D3)
• Andorre 0 – 12 Spain (D3)
• Spain 6 – 0 Switzerland (D4)
• Italy 5 – 1 Spain (D5)
• France 0 – 3 Spain (D5)
• Spain 1 – 1 Portugal (D7)

Best-Of Video of the Portugal-Spain Game

3rd: France asserting themselves game after game

Only in the last seconds of the Portugal-Spain game was the final ranking of the French revealed: They were tied with the Italians they had beaten on the previous day. The number of possibilities was so high and the ranking so unpredictable that the CERH had fun listing all the possible scenarios for the final Top-3!

Let’s note the great feats of the Givenchy Tshilombo / Tom Mfuekani pair in attack, and the impressive tournament performance of the French goalie, Matheo Martinato who knew how to remain strong in the net, game after game.

France remains 4th at the medal ranking since the creation of the event. They have been several times within a hair’s breadth of getting the gold, especially in Ploufragan (France) in 2012 and in Alcobendas (Spain) in 2013.

Recap of France’s games

• France 1 – 0 England (D1)
• France 4 – 1 Germany (D2)
• Austria 1 – 4 France (D3)
• France 8 – 0 Andorre (D4)
• Switzerland 1 – 2 France (D5)
• France 0 – 3 Spain (D5)
• Portugal 3 – 2 France (D6)
• France 3 – 1 Italy (D7)

Best-Of Video of the France-Italy Game

4th: Italy at the foot of the podium

With 6 victories and 2 losses (just like France), and being tied on points with France, Italy was in good position to enter the Top-3.

Italy remains the 3rd most decorated nation behind Portugal and Spain, with 6 gold medals. Let’s remember that the last title of the Boot players only dates from last year where they imposed themselves in Gujan-Mestras (France). Before that, their last victory was back in 1992 with a home advantage.

Recap of Italy’s games

• Italy 7 – 2 Switzerland (D1)
• Andorre 0 – 13 Italy (D2)
• Italy 12 – 1 Austria (D2)
• Portugal 3 – 0 Italy (D4)
• Italy 5 – 1 Spain (D5)
• England 3 – 5 Italy (D5)
• Italy 4 – 0 Germany (D6)

Thanks

Beyond the Top-4 to which we choose to limit ourselves here, let’s mention the means implemented by the organization and the European Committee of Rink Hockey to broadcast all the games live. The summary videos of the games, very quickly available, were much appreciated too. Good work…

Video of the Closing Ceremony

Results Table

By Alfathor
Translation: Chloe Seyres
Photos: Marzia Cattini

Useful Links

See our page dedicated to the 2015 U17 European Championships of Rink Hockey