The battle for the remaining EuroChamps27 qualification spots reaches its climax this week as Rome, Italy, and Prague, Czechia, stage the EuroHockey Championships Qualifier I tournaments, with two places up for grabs at each venue.
Running simultaneously from Thursday to Sunday, each venue hosts eight nations who will play in a straight knock-out format with the winners of the semi-final matches qualifying for the showpiece next summer in London.
On the men’s side, Rome’s Giulio Onesti Olympic training centre is the venue with the quarter-final line-up beginning on Thursday with Switzerland (World Ranking: 39) facing Croatia (WR: 43).
The winner of that contest will face highest-ranked side Scotland (WR: 17) or the rising force of Türkiye (WR: 41).
The other half of the draw features Czechia (WR: 31) meeting Portugal (WR: 57) before the hosts Italy (WR: 26) take on Ukraine (WR: 29).
All will be hoping for a place in Friday’s semi-finals where the all-important EuroChamps27 tickets are on offer as well as a potential shot at tournament gold over the weekend.
For the women, SK Slavia Prague’s impressive club facilities is the spot for what looks set to be a very evenly matched line-up.
Switzerland (WR: 36) are up against Ukraine (WR: 29) in the opening contest on Thursday morning; they are competing to face either Poland (WR: 25) or Croatia (WR: 62).
In the next section of the draw, Austria (WR: 33) face Türkiye (WR: 34) in a battle between two nations separated by only one place in the world.
Hosts Czechia (WR: 28) will be looking to use their knowledge to full effect when they take on Lithuania (WR: 53) in the last of the quarter-finals.
All are bidding for a place in Saturday’s semi-finals where their EuroChamps27 tickets will be decided.
You can watch each tournament live on www.eurohockeytv.org with an €8.99 event pass while the latest news and scores will be posted on the EuroHockey website.