England enjoyed a strong start to their EuroHockey Championships campaign with vicotry over Ireland and a draw against the Germans. That came before they survived a major scare as a late goal earned a 4-3 win over Belarus, who had lost their previous games 11-0 and 13-0.
That win nevertheless put them on top of Pool B and has teed up a semi-final against 2017 champions the Netherlands. England finished third in the previous edition and will need to up their game if they want to defeat the top-ranked side of the world and go one better than they did in Amstelveen.
The Dutch had a somewhat disappointing start to their group games, only earning draws against Belgium and eventual group winners Spain, but found another gear to thrash Russia 14-0 in their final match.
What are the EuroHockey Championships?
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
England came third in 2017Image caption: England came third in 2017
The EuroHockey Championships take place every two years with
men's and women's tournaments which involve the eight best teams from around
the continent.
This year’s contest is being held in Antwerp, Belgium and the
women's edition includes England and Ireland as they aim not only to win the
coveted title but also to secure automatic qualification for the 2020 Tokyo
Olympics.
While the champions will be on their way to Japan, the bottom
two teams will suffer relegation to the EuroHockey Championship II, and will be
replaced by the top two teams from that tournament for the 2021 edition –
including Scotland, who beat Italy in the final earlier in the month.
England are the only one of the home nations to have won the women's
tournament, doing so in both 1991 and 2015 as hosts. Ireland have never
finished higher than fifth in the women’s version of the tournament. The Dutch
are the most successful team in the tournament, winning nine of the 17 editions
to have taken place.
The eight teams are divided into two pools of four, who will
compete in a round robin before the top two teams from each group advance to
the semi-finals. The bottom two teams in each group will drop into Pool C,
where they will play off to avoid relegation.
EuroHockey Championships on the BBC
All times are BST and subject to change.
The BBC will have live coverage of all of the home nations’ matches in both the men’s and women’s competitions, as well as the semi-finals and finals.
All of the matches will be available to watch on the BBC Sport website and app as well via the BBC iPlayer, where you can also watch the matches back on catch-up.
Click here for the full schedule for both the men’s and women’s matches – below is the list of remaining women’s matches you can watch on the BBC.
Friday 23 August
14:35-16:15 - Belgium v Ireland, Pool C, BBC Sport website, app & Connected TV
16:50-18:30 - England v Netherlands, semi-final, BBC Sport website, app & Connected TV
19:20-21:00 - Spain v Germany, semi-final, BBC Sport website, app & Connected TV
Sunday 25 August
07:50-09:30 - Ireland v Russia, Pool C, BBC Sport website, app & Connected TV
12:20-14:00 - Third-place playoff, BBC Sport website, app & Connected TV
14:50-16:30 – Women’s final, BBC Sport website, app & Connected TV
How to get into hockey
Video content
Video caption: Emma Watson gets back to hockeyEmma Watson gets back to hockey
Hockey is in some
ways like football. It's an 11 a-side team game, where the aim is to score a
goal in the opposing team's net.
There are different
variations of the game, so hockey is for everyone, regardless of age, ability
or gender. There's also a real social side, with a culture of team bonding off
the field.
Play Hockey is a good place to start for those who are new to the game
or interested in coming back to it after years away. Simply type in your
postcode to locate your nearest club.
Live Reporting
All times stated are UK
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images England came third in 2017Image caption: England came third in 2017 Video caption: Emma Watson gets back to hockeyEmma Watson gets back to hockey
Latest PostEngland up against the reigning champions
England enjoyed a strong start to their EuroHockey Championships campaign with vicotry over Ireland and a draw against the Germans. That came before they survived a major scare as a late goal earned a 4-3 win over Belarus, who had lost their previous games 11-0 and 13-0.
That win nevertheless put them on top of Pool B and has teed up a semi-final against 2017 champions the Netherlands. England finished third in the previous edition and will need to up their game if they want to defeat the top-ranked side of the world and go one better than they did in Amstelveen.
The Dutch had a somewhat disappointing start to their group games, only earning draws against Belgium and eventual group winners Spain, but found another gear to thrash Russia 14-0 in their final match.
What are the EuroHockey Championships?
The EuroHockey Championships take place every two years with men's and women's tournaments which involve the eight best teams from around the continent.
This year’s contest is being held in Antwerp, Belgium and the women's edition includes England and Ireland as they aim not only to win the coveted title but also to secure automatic qualification for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
While the champions will be on their way to Japan, the bottom two teams will suffer relegation to the EuroHockey Championship II, and will be replaced by the top two teams from that tournament for the 2021 edition – including Scotland, who beat Italy in the final earlier in the month.
England are the only one of the home nations to have won the women's tournament, doing so in both 1991 and 2015 as hosts. Ireland have never finished higher than fifth in the women’s version of the tournament. The Dutch are the most successful team in the tournament, winning nine of the 17 editions to have taken place.
The eight teams are divided into two pools of four, who will compete in a round robin before the top two teams from each group advance to the semi-finals. The bottom two teams in each group will drop into Pool C, where they will play off to avoid relegation.
EuroHockey Championships on the BBC
All times are BST and subject to change.
The BBC will have live coverage of all of the home nations’ matches in both the men’s and women’s competitions, as well as the semi-finals and finals.
All of the matches will be available to watch on the BBC Sport website and app as well via the BBC iPlayer, where you can also watch the matches back on catch-up.
Click here for the full schedule for both the men’s and women’s matches – below is the list of remaining women’s matches you can watch on the BBC.
Friday 23 August
14:35-16:15 - Belgium v Ireland, Pool C, BBC Sport website, app & Connected TV
16:50-18:30 - England v Netherlands, semi-final, BBC Sport website, app & Connected TV
19:20-21:00 - Spain v Germany, semi-final, BBC Sport website, app & Connected TV
Sunday 25 August
07:50-09:30 - Ireland v Russia, Pool C, BBC Sport website, app & Connected TV
12:20-14:00 - Third-place playoff, BBC Sport website, app & Connected TV
14:50-16:30 – Women’s final, BBC Sport website, app & Connected TV
How to get into hockey
Video content
Hockey is in some ways like football. It's an 11 a-side team game, where the aim is to score a goal in the opposing team's net.
There are different variations of the game, so hockey is for everyone, regardless of age, ability or gender. There's also a real social side, with a culture of team bonding off the field.
Play Hockey is a good place to start for those who are new to the game or interested in coming back to it after years away. Simply type in your postcode to locate your nearest club.