The knockout stage of the European Team Championships in Zadar brought a day full of drama, long battles, and emotional moments. Several underdogs who had caused upsets in the group stage entered the Round of 16 determined to challenge Europe’s elite, and they delivered fierce performances that pushed the favourites to their limits.
Portugal – Spain 3–2
In a clash of epic proportions lasting over three and a half hours, Portugal secured their place in the quarter-finals after a dramatic 3–2 victory over Spain.
Spain’s youthful lineup, Juan PÉREZ (23), Daniel BERZOSA (19), and Miguel PANTOJA (21), pushed Portugal’s experienced trio of João GERALDO (30), Tiago APOLÓNIA (39), and João MONTEIRO (42) to the edge before last Championships’ bronze medallists finally prevailed to reach the Round of 8.
PÉREZ was the standout for Spain, scoring impressive wins over both GERALDO and APOLÓNIA, who made his first appearance at the Championships following recovery from a left knee injury.
“It was a really tough match against a very young and fiery team,” said GERALDO. “We managed to control our emotions very well. Spain played with so much energy and passion, they were big fighters. But we managed to absorb that energy in the right way and finish the match with a victory.”
Reflecting further, GERALDO added:
“It’s very hard to control their spin, everyone struggles with it. But the most important thing was to stay emotionally stable and believe until the end that we would win. PÉREZ was on fire today; he played two great matches. The third match was crucial, João MONTEIRO won 3–0 but was down 10–7 in the first and had another very tight set. That win gave us a big push. Then Tiago and I beat BERZOSA, who’s also a talented young player coming up. I’m sure he will be one of the best one day. But today, Tiago and I relied on our experience and qualities, and we proved that it still counts.”
GERALDO also praised the emerging generation of players:
“Many countries now have strong young players, and Portugal as well. We have Tiago ABIODUN, who’s already shown he can compete at senior level. The level of the new generation is really high, there are many more young players than in my time, or even in the generations of Tiago, Marcos, and MONTEIRO. It’s exciting to see who will become the best in the future. Meanwhile, I’ll keep fighting to stay among the best too.”
Speaking about APOLÓNIA’s recovery, he added:
“Tiago is improving day by day. Playing today was an important step, he’s getting better and better.”
Slovenia – Moldova 3–1
Slovenia’s trio of Deni KOZUL, Darko JORGIC, and Bojan TOKIC secured a solid 3–1 victory over Moldova’s Vladislav URSU, Andrei PUTUNTICA, and Denis TERNA, booking their place in the quarter-finals.
After Moldova had previously stunned Austria and nearly defeated Croatia in the group stage, Slovenia approached the match with caution.
“I think they could have even finished first in their group,” explained JORGIC. “Their match against Croatia was 50–50. We watched it in the hall and knew they weren’t an easy opponent. We were prepared from the start to the end for a tough fight, and that’s exactly what happened.”
URSU continued his strong form, defeating KOZUL in the opening match.
“URSU is playing really well. He already played in the Olympic qualification last year and has improved a lot,” said JORGIC.
“Deni didn’t find his rhythm, and URSU was dominant. The first game could have gone either way, but in the end, we managed to turn the match around.”
JORGIC then led by example, winning both of his matches, against PUTUNTICA and URSU, while TOKIC’s experience sealed the team’s victory.
“I started my match a bit under stress, it’s difficult to play when you’re 0–1 down and the team expects you to win,” admitted JORGIC.“But in the end, Bojan was fantastic. His experience made the difference. He showed exactly why we needed him here.”
This result marks Slovenia’s return to the top eight and proves they are on the good way to repeat their memorable run in 2017, when they last reached the medal podium.
“It’s a great result for us, honestly, we didn’t expect it, but everything is possible,” said JORGIC.
“We’ll keep fighting and look forward to facing Portugal or Spain next. Hopefully, we can deliver another strong performance and maybe celebrate a medal again like in 2017.”
France – Slovakia 3–0
France’s team of Alexis LEBRUN, Félix LEBRUN, and Simon GAZY advanced to the quarter-finals after a convincing 3–0 victory over Slovakia’s Yang WANG, Alexander VALUCH, and Jakub ZELINKA.
The French trio, one of the tournament favourites, handled the challenge with efficiency, securing a straightforward path into the last eight.
“Everything’s going well so far, we’re very happy to be in the quarter-finals and can’t wait for the competition to continue,” said Félix LEBRUN.
“At 1–0 and 3–0 up against VALUCH, I kind of switched off a bit, and he quickly came back to 4–3. I didn’t necessarily play my best at that point, he raised his level compared to the earlier games, so the match evened out a little.
But so far in this tournament, I’ve managed to win all my matches even when that happens, so it’s not a big issue. The important thing is to get the win, though I hope I’ll have fewer dips in my level of play as we move forward.
Here at the European Championships, the goal is to build momentum, to find your rhythm, stay focused on every point, and, little by little, make fewer mistakes. If you can avoid them altogether, that’s even better.”
Germany – Denmark 3-0
Germany’s Benedikt DUDA, Patrick FRANZISKA and Dang QIU justified their status by overcaming Denmark’s Jonathan GROTH, Anders LIND and Martin ANDERSEN.
Right from the opening game between Benedikt DUDA and Jonathan GROTH, the match was spectacular. Duda saved four game points against the Dane before finally taking the opener 15–13. Although the world No. 8 started the second game with a quick 4–0 lead, he couldn’t hold it. What followed was a thrilling encounter in which GROTH kept raising his level and producing spectacular points. In the decisive fifth game, however, DUDA showed exactly why he is among the world’s top ten. In the closing phase, the Benedikt produced his best table tennis, stringing together five consecutive points to win 11–6 and give Germany a 1–0 lead.
Up 8–1 in the second game, Patrick FRANZISKA seemed headed for a straightforward win against world No. 21 Anders LIND. Known for his unorthodox playing style, Lind fought back strongly, saving five game points before the German finally closed out the second game to lead 2–0.
“Things happen so fast in our sport,” said FRANZISKA. “I made a couple of easy mistakes, he hit a few good shots, suddenly it’s tight again. The key is to stay mentally clear and embrace the fight, even when it looked easy at first and then suddenly goes to deuce.”
FRANZISKA stayed mentally sharp in the third as well. LIND led 7–3 but failed to convert any of his four game points, while FRANZISKA remained composed and clinched victory on his first match point for a 3–0 win.
