Summary

  • FT: England 0-2 Belgium

  • Pool A match

  • England last won the competition in 2009

  • Belgium finished second in the 2017 EuroHockey Championships

  • Use play icon to watch live coverage

  1. What are the EuroHockey Championships?published at 15:38 British Summer Time 15 August 2019

    Ireland v Germany 2017Image source, Getty Images
    Image caption,

    Ireland lost to Austria in the 2017

    The EuroHockey Championships take place every two years with men's and women's tournaments which involve the eight best teams from around the continent.

    This year’s contest is being held in Antwerp, Belgium and the men's edition includes England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland as they aim not only to win the coveted title but also to secure automatic qualification for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

    While the champions will be on their way to Japan, the bottom two teams will suffer relegation to the EuroHockey Championship II, and will be replaced by the top two teams from that tournament for the 2021 edition.

    England are the only one of the home nations to have won the men's tournament, doing so in the Netherlands in 2009, but Ireland finished third in 2015, beating England 4-2 in the third-place playoff. Wales and Scotland both earned promotion from EuroHockey II in 2017. Germany are the most successful side in EuroHockey history, with eight men's titles since the competition began in 1970.

    The eight teams are divided into two pools of four, who will compete in a round robin before the top two teams from each group advance to the semi-finals. The bottom two teams in each group will drop into Pool C, where they will play off to avoid relegation.

  2. The England teampublished at 15:38 British Summer Time 15 August 2019

    Ashley JacksonImage source, Getty Images
    Image caption,

    Ashley Jackson during the 2016 Olympics

    England have named five players who have never been involved in the EuroHockey Championships before, including Surbiton’s 19-year-old Zach Wallace.

    The youthful look of the side will be offset by the return of the experienced Ashley Jackson, who hasn’t played in a major tournament for England since the Rio Olympics in 2016.

    Danny Kerry’s men will be looking to reach at least the semi-finals of the contest for the sixth consecutive time.

    Read more and see the full squad here.

  3. EuroHockey Championships on the BBCpublished at 15:38 British Summer Time 15 August 2019

    All times are BST and subject to change.

    The BBC will have live coverage of all of the home nations’ matches in both the men’s and women’s competitions, as well as the semi-finals and finals.

    All of the matches will be available to watch on the BBC Sport website and app as well via the BBC iPlayer, where you can also watch the matches back on catch-up.

    Click here for the full schedule for both the men’s and women’s matches – below is the list of England and Wales men’s matches you can watch on the BBC.

    Sunday 18 August

    17:00-19:00 – England v Belgium, BBC Sport website and app & Connected TV

    Tuesday 20 August

    12:30-14:30 – Spain v England, BBC Sport website and app & Connected TV

    20:30-22:30 – Belgium v Wales, BBC Sport website and app & Connected TV

    Thursday 22 August

    17:00-19:00 - 1st Pool A v 2nd Pool B, BBC Sport website and app & Connected TV

    19:30-21:30 - 1st Pool B v 2nd Pool A, BBC Sport website and app & Connected TV

    Saturday 24 August

    19:30-21:30 - Men's Final, BBC Sport website and app & Connected TV

  4. How to get into hockeypublished at 15:36 British Summer Time 15 August 2019

    Get Inspired
    #GetInspired

    Media caption,

    Emma Watson gets back to hockey

    Hockey is in some ways like football. It's an 11 a-side team game, where the aim is to score a goal in the opposing team's net.

    There are different variations of the game, so hockey is for everyone, regardless of age, ability or gender. There's also a real social side, with a culture of team bonding off the field.

    Play Hockey, external is a good place to start for those who are new to the game or interested in coming back to it after years away. Simply type in your postcode to locate your nearest club.