Men's EuroHockey Championship

This article is about the men's EuroHockey Nations Championship. For the women's tournament, see Women's EuroHockey Nations Championship.

The EuroHockey Nations Championship is an international men's field hockey competition organised by the European Hockey Federation (EHF) for the top eight European national teams. It is the top division of the EuroHockey Nations Championships. The tournament started in 1970. When the tournament is held close to the Summer Olympic games or the Hockey World Cup, the winner of the tournament is awarded a place in those competitions.

EuroHockey Nations Championship

Most recent season or competition: 2023 Men's EuroHockey Championship
Sport	Field hockey
Founded	1970; 53 years ago (1970)
Inaugural season	1970
No. of teams	8
Continent	EHF (Europe)
Most recent champion(s)	Netherlands (7th title) (2023)
Most titles	Germany (8 titles)
Level on pyramid	1

Format

Since 2005 the tournament is played in Divisions, normally consisting of 8 teams. The top division, containing the eight best national teams, is called the EuroHockey Championship, below which there is the EuroHockey Championship II, then the EuroHockey Championship III, then the EuroHockey Championship IV, and so on.

Qualification

National teams qualify for a division based on their performance in the previous competition. Each time the competition is held, it is with each division's previous top two teams promoted (assuming there is a higher division), and its previous bottom two teams demoted (assuming there is a lower division).

1. 1970-1974: No Qualification
2. 1978-2003 + 2023: Qualification Tournament
3. 2005-Ongoing: Via Men's EuroHockey Championship II and Men's EuroHockey Championship III and EuroHockey Championship IV

Summary

Assuming divisions consisting of the standard 8 teams, the teams are separated into two pools of four teams. In each pool (pool A and B) the teams play one match against each of the other teams in their pool (three in total). The teams then go on to play classification matches based on their relative ranking from these pool matches to determine their final tournament position.

Details

In each pool, A, and B, all the teams play each other once, with points awarded as follows:

• 3 points for a win
• 1 point for a draw
• 0 points for a loss

Upon completion of these matches, each team in the pool is ranked according to the number of points each has accumulated. If any teams in the pool have the same rank, then these teams are ranked:

• According to the number of matches they won, or else, if equal
• According to respective goal difference ('goals for' less 'goals against'), or else
• According to 'goals for', or else
• If only two teams are involved, according to the result of the match played between those teams, or else
• According to the results of a penalty stroke competition between those teams, or else
• This procedure is repeated using the penalty stroke result until the teams can be ranked

Once the relative ranking of the teams in pools A and B is settled, the semi-finals proceed with two games as follows:

• Second Pool A v first Pool B
• First Pool A v Second Pool B

The winners of these matches then play a match against each other for 1st and 2nd places (the final) and the losing teams play a match against each other for 3rd and 4th places (Bronze medal match).

The third and fourth placed teams in each pool are placed in Pool C (the Relegation Pool) in order to determine fifth to eighth places. Each team plays one match against the two teams that they did not previously play. The results from those games and from the game that was previously played against the other team in their original pool are used to rank each team according to the ranking procedure used in Pool A and B.

Dates

The senior (men's and women's) Nations tournaments are held over seven to eight consecutive days (including rest days) some time during the last two weeks of July and the first four weeks of August every odd numbered year (2009, 2011, etc.).

Results

Summaries

Year	Host		Final				Third place match
			Winner	Score	Runner-up		Third place	Score	Fourth place
1970 Details	Brussels, Belgium		West Germany	3–1	Netherlands		Spain	2–1	France
1974 Details	Madrid, Spain		Spain	1–0	West Germany		Netherlands	4–1	England
1978 Details	Hanover, West Germany		West Germany	3–2	Netherlands		England	2–0	Spain
1983 Details	Amsterdam, Netherlands		Netherlands	2–2 (8–6) penalty strokes	Soviet Union		West Germany	3–1	Spain
1987 Details	Moscow, Soviet Union		Netherlands	1–1 (3–0) penalty strokes	England		West Germany	3–2 after extra time	Soviet Union
1991 Details	Paris, France		Germany	3–1	Netherlands		England	1–1 (2–1) penalty strokes	Soviet Union
1995 Details	Dublin, Ireland		Germany	2–2 (9–8) penalty strokes	Netherlands		England	2–1	Belgium
1999 Details	Padua, Italy		Germany	3–3 (8–7) penalty strokes	Netherlands		England	7–2	Belgium
2003 Details	Barcelona, Spain		Germany	1–1 (5–4) penalty strokes	Spain		England	1–1 (6–5) penalty strokes	Netherlands
2005 Details	Leipzig, Germany		Spain	4–2	Netherlands		Germany	9–1	Belgium
2007 Details	Manchester, England		Netherlands	3–2	Spain		Belgium	4–3	Germany
2009 Details	Amstelveen, Netherlands		England	5–3	Germany		Netherlands	6–1	Spain
2011 Details	Mönchengladbach, Germany		Germany	4–2	Netherlands		England	2–1	Belgium
2013 Details	Boom, Belgium		Germany	3–1	Belgium		Netherlands	3–2	England
2015 Details	London, England		Netherlands	6–1	Germany		Ireland	4–2	England
2017 Details	Amstelveen, Netherlands		Netherlands	4–2	Belgium		England	4–2	Germany
2019 Details	Antwerp, Belgium		Belgium	5–0	Spain		Netherlands	4–0	Germany
2021 Details	Amstelveen, Netherlands		Netherlands	2–2 (4–1) penalty shoot-out	Germany		Belgium	3–2	England
2023 Details	Mönchengladbach, Germany		Netherlands	2–1	England		Belgium	2–0	Germany

Top four statistics

Team	Champions	Runners-up	Third-place	Fourth-place
Germany^[a]	8 (1970, 1978, 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2011*, 2013)	4 (1974, 2009, 2015, 2021)	3 (1983, 1987, 2005)	4 (2007, 2017, 2019, 2023*)
Netherlands	7 (1983, 1987, 2007, 2015, 2017*, 2021*, 2023)	7 (1970, 1978, 1991, 1995, 1999, 2005, 2011)	4 (1974, 2009, 2013, 2019)	1 (2003)
Spain	2 (1974, 2005)	3 (2003, 2007, 2019)	1 (1970)	3 (1978, 1983, 2009)
England	1 (2009)	2 (1987, 2023)	7 (1978, 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2011, 2017)	4 (1974, 2013, 2015*, 2021)
Belgium	1 (2019*)	2 (2013*, 2017)	3 (2007, 2021, 2023)	4 (1995, 1999, 2005, 2011)
Soviet Union		1 (1983)		2 (1987*, 1991)
Ireland			1 (2015)
France				1 (1970)

* = host

Team appearances

Team	1970	1974	1978	1983	1987	1991	1995	1999	2003	2005	2007	2009	2011	2013	2015	2017	2019	2021	2023	2025	Total
Austria	11th	15th	–	11th	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	7th	–	–	–	7th	–	–	7th		6
Belarus	Part of the Soviet Union						9th	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		1
Belgium	5th	10th	–	8th	10th	9th	4th	4th	6th	4th	3rd	5th	4th	2nd	5th	2nd	1st	3rd	3rd	Q	19
Czech Republic	Part of Czechoslovakia						–	–	–	–	8th	–	–	8th	–	–	–	–	–		2
Czechoslovakia	10th	9th	10th	–	–	–	Defunct														3
Denmark	18th	14th	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		2
England	6th	4th	3rd	5th	2nd	3rd	3rd	3rd	3rd	6th	5th	1st	3rd	4th	4th	3rd	5th	4th	2nd	Q	20
Finland	16th	18th	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		2
France	4th	6th	7th	6th	11th	6th	12th	7th	5th	5th	6th	6th	8th	–	7th	–	–	6th	5th	Q	17
Germany^[a]	1st	2nd	1st	3rd	3rd	1st	1st	1st	1st	3rd	4th	2nd	1st	1st	2nd	4th	4th	2nd	4th	Q	20
Gibraltar	–	–	12th	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		1
Hungary	17th	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		1
Ireland	9th	11th	8th	10th	6th	7th	5th	11th	9th	–	7th	–	5th	6th	3rd	6th	8th	–	–		15
Italy	13th	12th	–	–	9th	12th	–	12th	10th	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		6
Malta	19th	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		1
Netherlands	2nd	3rd	2nd	1st	1st	2nd	2nd	2nd	4th	2nd	1st	3rd	2nd	3rd	1st	1st	3rd	1st	1st	Q	20
Poland	7th	5th	5th	9th	5th	8th	6th	9th	7th	7th	–	8th	–	7th	–	8th	–	–	–		13
Portugal	–	16th	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		1
Russia	Part of the Soviet Union						–	8th	12th	–	–	–	7th	–	8th	–	–	8th	–		5
Scotland	15th	7th	11th	7th	8th	–	10th	–	8th	8th	–	–	–	–	–	–	7th	–	–		9
Soviet Union	14th	–	9th	2nd	4th	4th	Defunct														5
Spain	3rd	1st	4th	4th	7th	5th	8th	5th	2nd	1st	2nd	4th	6th	5th	6th	5th	2nd	5th	6th	Q	20
Switzerland	8th	17th	–	–	–	11th	11th	10th	11th	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		6
Wales	12th	8th	6th	12th	12th	10th	7th	6th	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	6th	7th	8th		11
Yugoslavia	–	13th	–	–	–	–	Defunct														1
Total	19	18	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	^[1]

See also

• Men's EuroHockey Championship II
• Men's EuroHockey Indoor Championship
• Men's EuroHockey Junior Championship
• Women's EuroHockey Championship

Notes

1. Includes results representing West Germany between 1970 and 1990

References

1. "Competitions Archive". p. 19. Retrieved 25 August 2018.

Further reading

• European Hockey Federation – Regulations for EuroHockey Nations Championships