EC day 6: the Netherlands and Belgium into the final, six other countries win in the final stage

Ireland turn the deficit around against Scotland

Ireland won the first match of the final stage 13‑10 against Scotland. Scotland made the better start: Matthew Mchugh, Beth Taylor and James Percival made it 0‑3, and after a penalty from Mchugh and a goal from Cody Sargent it was 2‑5 in the second quarter.

Then Ireland came back. Flora Timney from a penalty, Elizabeth Tighe with a long shot and Sam Ward made it 5‑5, and after 6‑6 captain Alf Timney put Ireland ahead for the first time just before half-time: 7‑6. Straight after the break Elizabeth Tighe converted a penalty and Stephen Mcdonagh made it 9‑6.

After three quarters it was 11‑7. Jennifer Devlin and Sargent brought Scotland back to 11‑9 in the final quarter, but Ward and Alf Timney made it 13‑9. Alf Timney was top scorer with five goals, Mcdonagh and Sargent scored three each. Ireland also won the most recent meetings with Scotland, who are still waiting for their first win at this European Championship.

Serbia strike in the final quarter against Switzerland

Serbia won the second match of the final stage 13‑11 against Switzerland. Aleksa Obradovic, Petar Perkovic, Nikola Perkovic and Petar Jovanovic put Serbia 4‑0 up in the first quarter; Switzerland had already called a time-out at 3‑0. At half-time it was 7‑5.

After the break Switzerland came back. Romain Nijenhuis made it 7‑7 from a penalty and later also 9‑9, and Laurence Gfeller shot 10‑10 from distance at the start of the final quarter. Then Serbia struck: Mina Vukic scored twice in quick succession, the second time with a run-in, and Nemanja Stojevic made it 13‑10 with a run-in.

Aaliyah Gfeller pulled one back from a penalty, but Nijenhuis missed a penalty in the closing minutes. He was top scorer with five goals; for Serbia six players scored twice. Serbia had earlier beaten Scotland with a golden goal at this European Championship.

Siemieniuk leads Poland past Slovakia

Poland won the third match of the final stage 15‑11 against Slovakia, who have never beaten Poland. Captain Tamara Siemieniuk scored the first four Polish goals, from a penalty, a free pass and two shots. After goals from Marcin Nowak and Julia Arent, Slovakia called a time-out at 6‑3, and Siemieniuk then made it 7‑3.

Then Slovakia came back. Jakub Krajc from a penalty, Zuzana Hrosovska with a run-in and Ema Ondrejcova with a long shot cut the gap to two by half-time: 8‑6. After the break Natalia Klimczyk and Izabela Kolodziejczyk made it 10‑6; in between Monika Bogdanova missed a penalty for Slovakia.

Patrik Kocur and Ondrejcova brought Slovakia back to 10‑8 within a minute. Siemieniuk then made it 12‑8 from a penalty and with a shot, after which Timea Darnadiova and Kocur made it 12‑10 from penalties in the final quarter. Poland then called a time-out and scored three more times, through Jedrzej Masztaleruk, Lukasz Krzemienowski and Nowak, against one goal from Zuzana Bušíková. Siemieniuk scored seven and played on after spraining her ankle in the first half; Bušíková was Slovakia's top scorer with three.

Hungary turn the match against Wales after half-time

Hungary won the fourth match of the final stage 17‑10 against Wales. Krisztina Farkas opened with a run-in, but Kiera Wilcox and Kristopher Banham, with a long shot, put Wales 1‑2 up. György Dörfi made it 2‑2 while the basket was swaying back and forth, and through Szabolcs Csernák, Diána Vaszkó and Míra Kiss Hungary pulled away to 5‑3 in the first quarter.

Wales stayed close through James Wilcox and Leo Comerford, and at half-time it was 7‑6. For Hungary, Zsolt Ferenc Majer sprained his ankle in the second quarter; Máté Eszenyi came on for him. After the break Comerford and Yasmin Williams made it 7‑8, putting Wales back in front.

Then the match turned. Kristóf Öhlmann from a penalty, Vaszkó, Eszenyi and Dörfi made it 11‑8 within three minutes, after which Wales called a time-out. In the final quarter Wales still scored through Keira Washtell and Williams, but Hungary pulled away to 17‑10. Vaszkó was top scorer with four goals, Comerford scored three for Wales.

Buckland fires England past Portugal with eight goals

England won the fifth match of the final stage 20‑8 against Portugal; both countries had each won four of their eight previous meetings. Shane Buckland and Joseph Bedford put England 2‑0 up with long shots. Through Blake Palfreyman, Kathryn Brooks with a run-in and Neala Brennan twice, England pulled away to 6‑2, and Buckland made it 8‑2 in quick succession.

For Portugal, captain Tiago Luz played with a broken bone in his hand, sustained against Belgium, and in the second quarter Júlio Ruivo went off injured. Just before half-time Inês Santos and Beatriz Rosa cut the gap to 8‑4. After the break Rachel Page missed a penalty for England and Tiago Ferro converted one: 9‑6.

Then England pulled away. Marcus Tighe and Buckland twice made it 12‑6, and after a time-out from Portugal substitute Dominic Brooks, Palfreyman and Buckland again made it 15‑6 after three quarters. Buckland scored eight in total, as many as the whole of Portugal. On Saturday England play Catalonia for 5th place at 11:45, Portugal play Turkey for 7th place at 10:00.

Catalonia hold off a Turkey that kept coming back

Catalonia won the last match of the afternoon 16‑14 against Turkey. After a penalty from Erva Duman, Aitana Segura Aparicio, Daniel Fernandez i Gran and Miquel Gil Maeso put Catalonia 1‑4 up within three minutes. In the first quarter the match was stopped for several minutes because a Turkish player needed treatment; it turned out not to be serious.

Turkey stayed close and drew level at 7‑7 in the second quarter through Ali Furkan Çetin and Sefa Çelik. Julia Soriano Milián put Catalonia 7‑9 up with two goals, the half-time score. After the break Turkey kept coming back to within one goal: 8‑9, 9‑10, 10‑11, 11‑12 and after a run-in from Erva Duman 13‑14.

Soriano Milián made it 13‑15, and after a time-out from Catalonia Gil Maeso made it 13‑16. Yagiz Ozturk still converted a penalty: 14‑16. Soriano Milián was top scorer with five goals, Çetin scored four for Turkey. On Wednesday England beat Catalonia 15‑13.

The Netherlands roll over Germany after half-time

The Netherlands won the first semi-final 35‑11 against Germany. Germany started with Lea Witthaus and Madeline Gust on the bench and made it 2‑1 through Hannah Heilmann, but after 5‑2 the Netherlands scored four in a row and it was 9‑2 after the first quarter. Ran Faber scored five times in the first half, and at half-time it was 16‑5.

The third quarter ended 10‑1, with three goals from Bo Oppe. For Germany substitute Julia Strach injured her ankle; for the Netherlands Daniëlle Boadi clutched her knee and was substituted. In the final quarter Alwin Out scored four times and Germany reached double figures through Louis Baetzen. Faber, Oppe and Rosalie Peet scored six each, Nikki Boerhout scored four times, all four from a penalty. Also read the analysis of the Netherlands - Germany.

Belgium leave Czechia behind after one quarter

Belgium won the second semi-final 26‑14 against host nation Czechia, who have never beaten Belgium. In front of their home crowd and with drums in the hall, Petr Pesak opened the scoring after eight seconds, and Lukas Holik kept Czechia close with two goals: after the first quarter it was 4‑3 to Belgium.

In the second quarter Belgium pulled away. Wout van Elsacker scored three times within two and a half minutes, and at 10‑4 Czechia called a time-out. The quarter ended 10‑2 and at half-time it was 14‑5. After the break Belgium pulled away to 20‑7, with four goals from twin sisters Joke and Lise van Maldeghem.

In the final quarter Belgium made plenty of substitutions, and Kian Amorgaste was shown a yellow card after an arm in the face of Rostislav Kortus. Lise van Maldeghem scored five, Nela Kubu three for Czechia. Belgium have won all six of their matches at this European Championship.

Friday for places 9 to 16, Saturday the final

On Friday Scotland play Switzerland at 14:00 and Ireland play Serbia at 15:45. Slovakia play Wales at 17:30, Poland play Hungary at 19:15. These are the matches for places 9 to 16. On Saturday at 15:15 the Netherlands play the final against Belgium, with Germany playing Czechia for bronze at 13:30.