Portugal versus Spain is again the Final of the Under 17 category of European Rink Hockey. At 21:00 (CEST), the two dominators of the final will try to win the 42nd title. Before the Gold Medal Final, the Bronze Medal Final, another “classic” of Rink Hockey (17:00), France versus Italy. Germany and Switzerland will try to remain in the fifth place (13:00). The program of the Finals Days will start with the Final of the 7th/8th place Austria vs England.
Spain manages to earn their tenth consecutive final, suffering a lot against Italy who had found the advantage after the first half with two goals from Francesco Tognetti. An unexpected result put the Spanish team in difficulty and only in the last part of the second half did they finally manage to get back into the game with a 2-2 draw scored by Berent and Milà supported by the excellent Olot crowd. Italy also suffered the blow in extra time with two goals from Joel Milà that made the difference, winning a highly anticipated Final, in an attempt to repeat the last five consecutive titles.
France was unable to contain a Portugal team that put an extra gear in the second half with top scorer Martim Nunes who affected the match from the first seconds with a shot close to goal. As has often happened in this European Championship, Portugal doubles the lead again with the talent of SL Benfica with a shot that is not blocked by the goalkeeper. A few more seconds and the third goal is fatal on a direct shot by Andre Araujo who puts the match on ice, winning the ninth consecutive final.
Switzerland against Germany will be the 5/6 place final. The two “mittel-European” teams managed to overcome their two opponents with two similar games, both building the victory in the first half with such a deficit that they were able to manage in the second half, not only the result but also the physical strength at the end of five very expensive matches. Switzerland practically decided the match at the end of the first half, where in about twenty seconds they scored two decisive goals in the final score from Schmocker and Muller. England was very compact but was unable to find the goal that could have reopened the match also thanks to the Swiss defence. The last goal was scored by Schenk in the second half. Germany made their semi-final clear in the first 10 minutes when the score was already 3-1. The very fast start allowed for more careful management of one’s energy. Bocker, Haubrock and Vytrisal scored the first three goals, interspersed with Calvin’s Austrian goal, while at the end of the first half there was Gruniseck’s fourth goal.
PHOTOS FOR THE PRESS
Men European Championship: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1UuLRItPzQf5NghQnllwvTcpBlwy8bZaz
Credits: World Skate Europe
Under 17 Men European Championship – Olot (Spain) – 15 / 20 July 2024
5th matchday – 19 July 2024 – Semifinals
09:30 – Men – Semifinal #4 5th/8th place – Germany x Austria = 1-4
11:30 – Men – Semifinal #3 5th/8th place – England x Switzerland = 0-3
17:00 – Men – SemiFinal #1 – Portugal x France = 3-0
20:45 – Men – SemiFinal #2 – Spain x Italy = 4-2 at overtimes
6th matchday – 20 July 2024 – Finals
09:00 – Men – Final 7th/8th place – England x Austria
13:00 – Men – Final 5th/6th place – Switzerland x Germany
17:00 – Men – Final 3rd/4th place – France x Italy
21:00 – Men – Final 1st/2nd place – Portugal x Spain
