Defending champions Spain, Hungary and Greece all opened their Women’s U20 European Championship campaigns with victories on the first day of competition in Oeiras, Portugal.
Spain began their pursuit of a fourth consecutive European title with an emphatic 16-8 victory over Italy. Built around several players who also won last year’s U18 European Championship, the Spanish side raced into a 5-1 lead inside the opening five minutes.
Carlota Penalver, Martina Claveria and Queralt Anton led the early charge as Spain established a 10-4 advantage by half-time. Italy were unable to recover, with Spain continuing to control the contest and closing out a convincing eight-goal victory.
Hungary produced an equally impressive performance against the Netherlands, winning 17-5 in Group B.
Dutch goalkeeper Caitlin van Leeuwen made several excellent saves during the opening stages, including denying a penalty and a one-on-one opportunity. However, Hungary’s organised defence and speed on the counter-attack eventually overwhelmed the Dutch.
The Hungarians led 7-2 at half-time before scoring five goals in each of the final two quarters. Dominika Kardos finished with a hat-trick as Hungary made an early statement following silver medals at the previous two editions.
Greece were made to work harder during their 18-13 victory over Israel. The teams were level at 4-4 after the opening period, but Greece took control with six unanswered goals across the second and third quarters.
Israel ended a scoring drought of more than 12 minutes but could not close the gap, despite Greece missing three penalties during the contest.
Croatia also enjoyed a strong start, beating France 20-10. Jelena Butic, Ria Glas and Neli Jankovic each scored four goals after Croatia opened the match with a dominant 7-1 first quarter.
In Division 2, Great Britain recovered from a slow start to defeat Ireland 21-9. Ireland led 5-3 after Laura Casserly scored four times in the opening quarter, but Britain responded with a 4-0 second period before scoring 14 goals after half-time.
Lucy Blenkinship led Great Britain with five goals, while Jo Lamont-Tuckett and Elsie Graves added four each.
Hosts Portugal completed the opening day with a 16-12 victory over Ukraine, powered by an 8-3 final quarter.
Results
Group A
Spain 16-8 Italy
Greece 18-13 Israel
Group B
Hungary 17-5 Netherlands
Croatia 20-10 France
Group C
Germany 3-26 Neutral Athletes B
Group D
Ukraine 12-16 Portugal
Group E
Great Britain 21-9 Ireland
Group F
Turkiye 21-7 Switzerland
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