© Diane Krüger
While the women secured an 8th place at the EuroHockey 5s Championship in Poland, Luxembourg's U16 boys, fresh from exams, made their international debut at the EuroHockey 5s in Georgia.
Historic win for women's national team at the European Hockey 5s Championships
Luxembourg made their first appearance at the EuroHockey 5s Women's Championship in Walcz, Poland, from 2–6 July. Despite challenging matches against Sweden and Poland, they demonstrated resilience and achieved their inaugural international victory against Finland. They finished in eighth place overall, with Lithuania securing a victory over them in their final match.
During matches against Sweden and Wales, Clara Beck and Diane Krüger scored, with the team totalling six goals but no wins (12:3 against Sweden and 18:3 against Wales).
On the second match day, Luxembourg achieved their first-ever field hockey victory, defeating Finland 6:1 under coach Natalia Garcia. This win was significant as it marked their inaugural victory despite challenges such as limited substitutes. In the battle for seventh place, they lost 13-1 to Lithuania. Poland emerged as European champions.
Reflecting on the tournament, captain Diane Krüger highlighted the importance of their participation and overcoming resource limitations. The team now looks ahead to the European Championships qualifier in Douai, France, scheduled for 22–24 August.
© Diane Krüger
U16 boys second-highest scoring team
The U16 boys, aged between 13 and 15, had just finished their school exams when they made their international debut at the EuroHockey 5s U16 Boys II Championship in Kutaisi, Georgia.
A win against the hosts and a tie against Bulgaria propelled the young team straight into the semi-finals, where they experienced a narrow loss to Armenia.
The boys finished the competition in fourth place, but were the second-highest scoring team with 23 goals, just behind champions Denmark, who scored 30 .
A third national team will travel to Wałcz, Poland, on 14 July to participate in the EuroHockey 5s Men’s U21 II Championship. They will face a number of high-performing teams, including Austria, Italy, Poland, and Lithuania.
Commitment to bringing Luxembourg to the Olympics
Hockey has existed in Luxembourg since 1976 but gained significant traction in 2015 with the introduction of a state-of-the-art pitch at the Boy Konen Sports Complex in Cessange.
Today, Luxembourg boasts one club, the Luxembourg Hockey Club, with 400 players, equally balanced between women and men. From this talent pool, the Hockey Federation of Luxembourg selects the best players to form national teams.
The Hockey Federation Luxembourg (HFL) is firmly committed to bringing Luxembourg to the Olympics in field hockey.
The first national hockey team was established in 2022, and this year, no fewer than three teams are competing in various EuroHockey Championships.
This success underscores the effectiveness of Luxembourg's youth development program, which the HFL initiated years ago. Remarkably, 80% of the players have been playing together for over seven years.
Selected from the talented pool of the Luxembourg Hockey Club team, which competes in the highly competitive Belgian League, they were trained by coaches Adria Miralles and Nacho Choski for five months in preparation for the championship.
