Almost mission impossible as Ireland face Germany for place in EuroHockey semi-finals
It's not quite mission impossible, but it's close enough for Ireland.
To qualify for the semi-finals of the EuroHockey Championships for the first time they must beat Germany by a two-goal margin in Mönchengladbach on Wednesday evening.
To put that challenge in context, the Germans, ranked seven places above Ireland, won 5-0 when the nations met in the 2023 tournament.
That's the measure of the task, then, that faces Gareth Grundie's side after their defeats by the Netherlands and France in their opening two pool games. Ireland are the only team in the tournament yet to pick up a point or score a goal.
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While they took heart from their display against the Dutch,
only losing 2-0 to the world champions
, their
first defeat by France left them dejected
, not least because they created enough chances to win the game comfortably.
Grundie's chief worry will be his players' failure to capitalise on penalty corners. Ireland won two against the Dutch and 13 against the French, but none bore fruit, the lack of variation hardly helping their cause.
If they are to have any chance of beating the Germans, that area of their game has to click.
While the German hosts might not be the force they once were, back when they were winning Olympic Games, World Cups and European Championships, they're still sixth in the world rankings and were bronze medallists at the last Europeans.
They were no match for the Dutch, though, on Monday, finding themselves 3-0 down after just 13 minutes before losing 5-1. Ireland will hope that their opponents prove to be similarly fragile defensively on Wednesday.
The Dutch will be expected to beat France earlier on Wednesday. In the unlikely event of a draw or a French win, Ireland's semi-final ambitions would be over, regardless of how they fare against Germany.
If the mission does indeed prove impossible, then Ireland would enter the fifth- to eighth-place pool. The sizeable safety net in this tournament is there will be no relegation because the 2027 championships will be extended from eight to 12 competing nations.
In pool B, all four teams – leaders Belgium, England, Spain and Scotland – still have a chance of making the semi-finals, the key game being the meeting between England (three points) and Spain (two).
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