Germany men and women won the EuroHockey under-18 Championship titles on Sunday in front of a bumper home crowd in Crefeld.
Germany men won their fifth European junior title with a tight 3-2 win over Belgium in the final.
The Netherlands beat Spain 4-3 to finish with bronze, while England – who last medalled in 2005 – edged Scotland in a shoot-out to end the competition in fifth place.
Earlier notable games had seen the Dutch thwart England’s title bid in the pool stages with a come-from-behind 4-3 win. In the semi-finals, Germany had beaten Spain 8-6.
Germany coach Peter Maschke said: “I think it was a well-deserved European Championship title for us because we improved from game to game.
“After the crazy semi-final, we worked our way into the final and played very well together in the second half, building up pressure and creating chances.
“What was also remarkable for me was that even without Paul Glander, who we gave up to the U21s and who is an outstanding corner scorer there and in the Bundesliga, we had the best attacking corner here at the European Championships.
Germany women then completed a memorable double by prevailing 3-2 in a shoot-out over Belgium after a scoreless final in normal time to earn their third title. Germany men and women had also won in 2021.
Spain beat England 1-0 to finish third, the Dutch overcoming France in the fifth place match.
Goal of the day
