Can Czechia reclaim its place in women’s field hockey’s top tier after a decade away? The answer may come in Prague this week, where Czechia will compete in the EuroHockey Championship Qualifier I at Slavia Prague against Lithuania, Austria, and T\u00fcrkiye\u2014a four-team battle for promotion to the elite championship.<\/p>\n
Czechia last appeared in the top tier in 2017. That makes this qualifier a chance to reverse years of decline. The hosts rank 28th in the world, yet their recent form tells a different story. They demolished Croatia 12-0 and beat Switzerland 3-1 in the Alps Cup last weekend. Veronika P\u0159ib\u00edkov\u00e1 was the standout, scoring six goals in that Swiss victory.<\/p>\n
Czechia opens against Lithuania on Thursday at 17:45 CET. The matchup favours the hosts. Since 2016, Czechia has won four straight against Lithuania, including a 4-1 victory last summer when Nat\u00e1lie H\u00e1jkov\u00e1 scored twice. Lithuania, ranked 53rd globally, finished seventh at Championship II last summer and hasn’t reached the top tier since 1999.<\/p>\n
Austria faces T\u00fcrkiye at 15:30 CET that same day. The two sit close in rankings: Austria at 33rd, T\u00fcrkiye at 34th. But T\u00fcrkiye’s pedigree runs deeper\u2014they finished second at Championship III last summer. The nations last met outdoors in 2015, when Austria won 6-0 in Dublin’s World League.<\/p>\n
Austria’s captain Johanna Czech leads a squad that trained hard. Austria faced Poland four times in warm-ups\u2014twice in Vienna, twice in Pozna\u0144\u2014winning one, drawing one, and losing two. One detail stands out: Kristina Vukovich, who played for Austria in that 2015 World League match, has rejoined the national team in 2025.<\/p>\n
T\u00fcrkiye’s roster is young. Only captain Yeter Okumu\u015f and Tug\u00e7e \u0218ahiner have over 20 caps, which means limited international experience despite their Championship III success. Okumu\u015f carries the leadership weight as T\u00fcrkiye pursues an upset.<\/p>\n
Czechia’s preparations included captain Ad\u00e9la Ko\u017e\u00ed\u0161kov\u00e1’s return to the side. She led the team during the Alps Cup after stepping away for three years. All matches will be broadcast live on www.eurohockeytv.org. Weekend passes cost \u20ac8.99.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Czechia hosts the EuroHockey Championship Qualifier I in Prague this week, seeking to return to the elite tier after a decade-long absence. The hosts face Lithuania, Austria, and T\u00fcrkiye in a four-team battle for promotion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2002,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[84],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2003","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-european-hockey-league"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n