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.
“His serve was very good and he has a strong forehand. Looking back, I think I could have served better, and that was probably the biggest difference.”
The Italian also revealed he had to overcome an ankle problem later in the tie.
“I started feeling a strong pain in my ankle, so it wasn’t easy to continue. I’m really happy that I managed to win 3-2, and I hope I’ll feel better tomorrow.”
Reflecting on Italy’s narrow defeat to Slovakia, FASO felt the group could easily have finished differently.
“I think I played really well. I won both of my matches against ARPAS and FLORO, so I was pleased with my own performance. Francesco TAZZA was leading 2-0 and 7-3 in the opening match against FLORO, and if we had managed to close it out, the result could have been different. It was a very close team match.”
Now, his attention is fully on the knockout stage.
“We’re very happy to have reached the main draw, and now we’ll do our best and hope to go as far as possible.”
Although already assured of qualification once Italy defeated Portugal, Slovakia finished the group stage with a 3-1 loss to Israel. Or MAGEN and Natanel ABRAMOV established a 2-0 lead before Samuel ARPAS pulled one match back. ABRAMOV then returned to beat Jakub HOLUBCIK in five games and complete Israel’s victory.
Group D belonged to Sweden, who completed the group stage unbeaten to finish first. Spain secured second place after defeating England 3-1, while Switzerland placed third.
Spain booked their place in the knockout stage thanks to victories from Luca KHIDASHELI, Dario SALCEDO and KHIDASHELI again after Max RADIVEN had briefly levelled the tie for England.
Sweden completed their flawless campaign with a 3-1 victory over Switzerland. Noa DAHLSTROM won both of his singles matches, while Adam WALLIN added the decisive point as Sweden headed into the knockout stage with maximum confidence.
