Day four of U22 European Championships in Lignano-Sabbiadore, started with a nail biting match between Turkey and Spain. Both teams battled hard, after the first quarter there was just one point in it, with Spain leading 16 – 15. However, from then on Turkey controlled the game taking a 9 point lead into the third quarter and ensured themselves the victory, 71 – 61. Turkey will come up against Italy for a place in the final, whilst Spain will play Israel in a bid to secure a place in the 5th/6th play off.

The second game of the day Germany took a comfortable 73 – 38 victory over the Netherlands, to remain unbeaten and top group A. They will play on Friday against top favourite and current U22 European Champions Great Britain. Top scorer for Germany was Schoneberg with 16 points.

Matthias Guntner, German top scorer after the first three matches had a clear message and said: “I’m happy with my performances, I want to help my teammates the best I can. France or Great Britain in semi? There is no difference. We want the gold medal”.

Also German head coach Peter Richarz drew a positive conclusion following the match, said: “We reached our objective and are in the semifinal as the winner of our group.”

The third and final game of the day was the decider for the last semi-final spot as Great Britain took on France. It was Great Britain who controlled the match from the beginning and didn’t allow the France a chance to turn round the game. In the end they took a 63 – 28 victory. The result sets up what is set to be a spectacular match between an old rivalry Great Britain and Germany at 6pm (CET).

Great Britain captain Gregg Warburton, who made 10 points today,  said: “It was a big game today. France are a good team and we did a very professional job. Tomorrow it’s gonna be a super tough game, Germany were our opponent in the final of the U22 European Championships 2014 in Zaragoza two years ago, so tomorrow it will be fun to play against them again.”

Day 4 scores:

  • Turkey 71 – 61 Spain
  • The Netherlands 38 – 73 Germany
  • Great Britain 63 – 28 France

Day 5:

  • 11:15am – 5/8 Crossover – Spain v Israel
  • 1:30 pm – 5/8 Crossover – The Netherlands v France
  • 3:45 pm – Semi-final – Italy vs Turkey
  • 6 pm – Semi-final – Great Britain vs Germany

To follow the action visit IWBF Europe’s website or the ECMU22 Facebook page