Tournaments in men’s hockey don’t come much more competitive than the EuroHockey Championships. All of the top five ranked nations in world hockey are set to compete in the competition which gets going in Germany next weekend.
Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Spain and England occupy those top five slots and will all be present, whilst France (9th), Austria (19th) and Poland (25th) are the other teams in the tournament.
“It’s difficult. The European sides at the moment are really strong. Spain did really well in the Pro League, although they’re not in our group, we’re sort of looking at the other group thinking three really, really strong teams and then one other good team as well. And in our group we’re looking at all of those teams on exactly the same level” says England’s James Albery.
“You know, there are no easy games and there aren’t that many of them. Ultimately it feels like if you have one bad result, then you might not get through the group stage. There’s no room for error.”
England find themselves in a pool with Poland, hosts Germany and France with the top two going into the semi finals. A good start in the first game is a must if England are to reach the knock out stages.
New faces hoping to make an impact
Major tournaments early on in an Olympic cycle can be difficult to predict with different teams having different players coming into the fold. England have a degree of familiarity to the squad who came runners up in the last Europeans, but that also means some new faces too.
Sam Hooper, Ben Fox and Jacob Payton have nine, ten and 13 caps respectively and will be looking to make their mark in Germany.
“They’re really good players in their own right but also really good guys to have on your team.They will bring a lot of energy and all contribute in their own different ways.
“From a playing point of view, you’ve obviously got Hoops [Sam Hooper] who brings a real threat from the top of the circle, which is exciting for us.
Foxy [Ben Fox] is a really skillful young player but also a really strong defender. You can look at him and you see all of his skills and you think ‘oh, he’s just going forwards’ but ultimately he’s a really, really strong defender.
“Jacob Payton or Bagels, as we call him, has some real speed up front. He’s a really skilful guy. So I think they will bring their own strengths. It’s nice that they’ve been able to fit in and bring those things rather than sometimes you feel that guys are sort of holding back when they first come into a squad.”
Goalkeeping depth
One of the players missing from that 2023 England squad is goalkeeper Ollie Payne, currently sidelined with injury. Payne, widely regarded as one of the best in the world would be a big miss, however James Mazarelo has stepped into the team and produced an absolutely remarkable run of form.
“Maz [James Mazarelo] has shown everyone recently that he is really one of the best goalkeepers in the world. He’s been knocking on the door for a long time but I think what’s most impressive about him is he’s just kept going.
“It can’t be easy to be in that number two spot but he’s one of the most committed guys out there and one of the most professional guys in our squad.
“We’re really pleased for him to finally get his chance. I know that it’s not the way that he wanted it for it to have come and we’re obviously all gutted that Payno isn’t going to be able to be out there with us, but you know that that’s top level sport and injuries are part of it.”
Losing a goalkeeper of Payne’s obvious quality would be problematic for most sides, but Mazarelo’s form has shown the great position England are in with their goalkeepers:
“That’s a real credit to them as a pair. The way that they work, their relationship that they have, you know they’re very much on the same page and it doesn’t feel any different from our side when either of them step into goal. The way that those guys work, the levels that they are at is seriously impressive. So, yeah, we’re lucky in that sense.”
Can England go one better?
Of course, the last time they competed in this competition, England went all the way to the final where they were dramatically beaten 2-1 by Netherlands. Now they return, aiming to go one better and climb to the top of that podium.
“It’s a strange one. The tournament is held in exactly the same stadium. We’re staying in the same hotel. We’ve got a number of the guys that were there before, so it’s got a really nice, familiar feel to it. Somewhere where we ultimately had a really strong tournament, and then managed to not quite get over the line in the end. When you look back at that tournament, you look back with a lot of pride, but also there’s that sort of little bit where you feel a bit of regret.
“We’re really, really determined to hopefully go one better this year. We’re massively looking forward to it.”
England begin their campaign against Poland on Friday 8 August 2025, with Germany in their second game on Sunday 10 August before their final pool match with France on Tuesday 12 August.
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