The knockout stage field in the Under 15 Boys Teams event at the European Youth Championships in Gondomar is now half complete. France, Türkiye, Germany and Poland all finished the group stage with perfect records, while Spain, Austria, Czechia and Sweden claimed the remaining qualification places after a series of dramatic final-round encounters. France and Spain advanced from Group A after finishing first and second respectively. France maintained their unbeaten record by overcoming Romania 3-2 to finish on six points, while Spain booked their place in the knockout stage with a convincing 3-0 victory over England. Romania placed third with four points, ahead of England. France had to dig deep to preserve their perfect record. David TORO put Romania ahead with a four-game victory over Nolan JOHNSTON, but Noah TESSIER responded emphatically by defeating Tudor SAFTOIU in straight games. TESSIER and Quentin SANDONA then overcame TORO and SAFTOIU in the doubles to edge France in front. TORO levelled the tie by beating TESSIER in four games, forcing a deciding fifth match, where JOHNSTON produced a commanding straight-games victory over SAFTOIU to clinch top spot for France. Spain sealed qualification in style. Alexander MALOV recovered from losing the opening game to defeat Pablo RAMIREZ RIOJA in four games, before Ladimir MAYOROV dominated Oscar NIKOLLI in straight games. Roger QUESADA and MALOV then completed the clean sweep with a comfortable doubles victory. Group B belonged to Türkiye, who completed a flawless campaign with three victories from three matches. Austria claimed second place after edging hosts Portugal 3-2 in one of the most dramatic ties of the group stage, while Portugal finished third ahead of Denmark. Türkiye concluded the group phase with a 3-1 victory over Denmark. Zacharias AL MOALEM gave Denmark hope by edging Ali Enes SEREN in a thrilling five-game opener, but Kaan TUNA restored parity by defeating Noah SIMONI in four games. Görkem OCAL and TUNA then put Türkiye ahead with a straight-games doubles victory before TUNA completed the win with another commanding performance against AL MOALEM. The battle for second place went right down to the wire. Louis FEGERL gave Austria the lead with a straight-games victory over Tiago MORAIS, but Rodrigo ANDRADE twice restored parity for Portugal by defeating both Sung Bing CHEN and FEGERL in gripping five-game contests. The decisive moments came in the doubles, where FEGERL and CHEN edged ANDRADE and Eric PEREIRA in five games, before CHEN defeated MORAIS in straight games to secure Austria’s place in the knockout stage. Austria coach Wojciech KOLODZIEJCZYK admitted qualification had been the team’s clear objective. “It was a very important match because we were fighting for second place in the group. It was a very close team match, and I’m proud that we managed to win 3-2 and qualify for the main draw.” He praised the challenge posed by Portugal’s Rodrigo ANDRADE, noting the age difference between the two teams. “Almost every match was very close, especially those involving Rodrigo ANDRADE. He’s a very strong player, especially physically. Our players are only 13 and 14 years old, so they still have one or even two years left in the Under 15 category. That physical difference played an important role.” Even so, KOLODZIEJCZYK believed his players proved they belonged at this level. “They had their opportunities to beat Rodrigo, but they couldn’t quite take them. Even so, they competed very well and showed they can challenge players at this level.” For the Austrian coach, the doubles proved decisive. “The doubles match was the turning point. We won it 3-2 after a very close battle, and that gave us a huge boost. In a match like this, every point matters.” He also referred to the unusual incident in which Portugal’s Luís FIGUEIREDO had to change his racket after striking the table. “Perhaps it made a small difference. He had to change his racket during the match. It’s never ideal, but despite that, the match was still extremely close and ended 3-2.” Looking ahead to the knockout stage, KOLODZIEJCZYK was proud of the composure shown by his young squad. “Our players stayed calm and kept fighting until the end. In the final match, CHEN was the stronger player and secured the decisive point for us. Qualifying for the main draw with such a young team is something we’re very happy about.” Germany also completed a perfect group campaign, topping Group C with three victories. Czechia secured second place by edging Hungary 3-2 in a dramatic winner-takes-all encounter, while Switzerland finished fourth. Germany wrapped up first place with another commanding performance, sweeping Switzerland 3-0. Lukas WANG set the tone with a straight-games victory over Charlie HURTADO, before Tien Nghia PHONG allowed Balthazar PORRITT just 11 points in another dominant display. Jonathan KRAFT and Kirill MANALAKI completed the clean sweep in the doubles. The fight for second place went the distance. Simon ZSIGMOND gave Hungary the lead by defeating Oliver OLEJNIK, but Ondrej MORAVEK levelled the tie with a five-game victory over Peter ZUBOR. Hungary regained the advantage after ZSIGMOND and ZUBOR recovered from two games down to win the doubles, only for OLEJNIK to keep Czechia alive with a four-game win over ZUBOR. MORAVEK then delivered the decisive point, beating ZSIGMOND in straight games to send Czechia into the knockout stage. Group D Poland finish unbeaten, while Sweden secured the second qualification place after surviving a thrilling encounter against Ukraine. Poland completed their perfect campaign with a commanding 3-0 victory over Italy. Jakub TURECKI opened with a straight-games success against Pietro CAMPAGNA, before Hubert KWIECINSKI defeated Tommaso SIMI, edging the third game 12-10. Olaf GLANERT and Ignacy SLAWINSKI then completed the sweep in the doubles. Sweden’s qualification was secured after a dramatic 3-2 victory over Ukraine. Volodymyr NEVIZHYN gave Ukraine the perfect start by defeating Joel ISAKSSON in straight games, but Emil ELLERMANN levelled the tie with a four-game victory over David DROBOV. ELLERMANN and Erik KOGERFELT then put Sweden ahead with a straight-games doubles win. NEVIZHYN produced a remarkable comeback
Romania Topple the Seeds as France Stay Perfect and Italy Survive Group Drama
The half of the knockout stage lineup in the Under 19 Boys Teams event at the European Youth Championships in Gondomar was completed after the final round of group matches. Top seeds France and Sweden maintained perfect records to finish first in their respective groups, ninth seeds Romania continued their remarkable run by topping Group B ahead of higher-ranked Poland and Czechia, while Italy secured qualification in a decisive battle with Portugal. France completed Group A with three victories from three matches to finish on six points. Austria joined the top seeds in the knockout stage after edging Hungary for second place, while Norway finished fourth. France rounded off the group phase with a commanding 3-0 victory over Norway. Nathan LAM opened with a straight-games win over Mathias HALVORSEN, before Nathan PILARD overcame Khai Noah LAM in three closely contested games. Nathan DOUSSINET then completed the sweep by defeating Filip DAGSLETT in straight games. France completed Group A with three victories from three matches. Austria joined the top seeds in the knockout stage after edging Hungary for second place, while Norway finished fourth. France rounded off the group phase with a commanding 3-0 victory over Norway. Nathan LAM opened with a straight-games win over Mathias HALVORSEN, before Nathan PILARD overcame Khai Noah LAM in three closely contested games. Nathan DOUSSINET then completed the sweep by defeating Filip DAGSLETT in straight games. French coach Alice JONEAU explained that the changes to her line-up throughout the group stage were never tactical. “It wasn’t about strategy. We wanted every player to have the opportunity to play, and that was the main reason for changing the line-up from match to match. I’m very happy with the way the team has played. The players are confident, they’re performing well, and we feel ready for what’s coming next.” Nathan LAM admitted France had expected a demanding encounter against Norway. “We knew it would be a tough match because their first player is very good, but we managed to perform well and win 3-0, which was exactly the result we wanted.” LAM also reflected on his dramatic five-game defeat to Austria’s Julian RZIHAUSCHEK, revealing what made the encounter so difficult. “His serve and third-ball attack caused me a lot of problems. The last two games were extremely close, but I couldn’t find the right solutions at the key moments.” Despite that individual setback, France still secured the team victory, something LAM believes highlights the squad’s strength. “It shows the strength of our team. NOIRAULT and PILARD played really well and won their matches, so we were able to secure the overall victory. We have a great team spirit, we’re playing well, we feel confident and we’re ready for the knockout stage.” Group B produced one of the biggest stories of the tournament so far. Ninth seeds Romania topped the group with a perfect record, defeating both second seeds Poland and eighth seeds Czechia to qualify for the knockout stage. Poland also progressed after finishing second. Romania completed their outstanding group campaign with a 3-1 victory over Czechia. Jindrich MORAVEK gave the eighth seeds the ideal start by defeating Robert PODAR in straight games, but Robert ISTRATE levelled the tie with a commanding victory over Jan SKALDA. Andrei TIBIRNA then edged Martin VAIGL in a five-game battle before ISTRATE secured first place in the group, recovering after surrendering a two-game lead to defeat MORAVEK in the deciding game. Poland booked their place in the knockout stage with a 3-1 victory over Belgium. Marcel BLASZCZYK opened with a straight-games win over Per GEVERS, surviving two deuce games. Charles JANSSENS levelled the tie by defeating Samuel MICHNA in five games, but Mateusz SAKOWICZ restored Poland’s advantage with a dominant victory over Jamie EILING. MICHNA then overcame GEVERS in another five-game contest to complete the win. Group C went down to the final round before Slovakia and Italy emerged as the two qualifiers. Both teams finished with two wins and one defeat, with Slovakia claiming first place courtesy of their head-to-head victory over Italy. Italy secured qualification with a 3-1 victory over Portugal. Tiago ABIODUN edged Danilo FASO in five games to give Portugal an early lead, but Francesco TREVISAN restored parity with a straight-games victory over Lourenço SARDINHA. Jacopo CIPRIANO then battled past Carlos GONCALVES in five games before FASO recovered from his opening defeat to beat SARDINHA in another deciding game and send Italy through. Italian coach Romualdo MANNA stressed the importance of the victory. “It was a very difficult match and it was extremely important for us to win because otherwise we would have finished third. Danilo FASO lost a very close match against Tiago ABIODUN. It was a great contest and both players performed at a very high level. In the end, I think Danilo became just a little cautious, and against a player as strong as Tiago, if you give him an opportunity, he will take it.” MANNA revealed that tactical adjustments before CIPRIANO’s match proved decisive. “We changed a few tactical things before his match. At first it looked as though it would be straightforward, but it became very difficult. I was really happy because Francesco stayed focused throughout the match and played an excellent deciding game.” Looking back at the group stage, MANNA was satisfied with his team’s response. “It was a very difficult group. Against Slovakia we also had a good chance, but we missed a few important points at the end. Even against Israel, although the score was 3-0, it wasn’t an easy match because they played well. Overall, I’m happy with the way my players performed, and now we’ve reached the knockout stage.” FASO was equally pleased to see Italy progress despite his opening defeat. “It was a really good match. I think I played well and produced a high-level performance. In the deciding game I was leading 6-5, so I had a real chance to win. But that’s table tennis—sometimes these things happen.” He admitted ABIODUN’s serve proved decisive.
