Ludwigsburg, Germany played host to the WMH European Masters Championships 2025 for the age groups O65, O70, O75 and O80 last month.
This was the first time that there had been an O80 section and England faced old rivals Netherlands and O80 newcomers Germany.
After a comfortable 3-1 win against the hosts with goals from Tony Jones and Adrian Stephenson (2), England were faced with tougher opposition in the form of the Netherlands to whom they had lost their last two annual international matches.
With a squad of 14 depleted to 12 with accidental off-field issues for two of their players, it was always going to be an uphill battle.
But the defensive back line of Holden, Greenwood, Parker, Murrill and Kavanagh stood firm in front of active ‘keeper John Young and jointly kept the lively Netherlands forwards at bay after England took an early lead through a goal from David Gill. Brian Perryman’s tireless work in midfield alongside Nigel Spencer-Knott and Ken Wilcock denied the Dutch time on the ball.
A momentary lapse in the third quarter led to a Dutch equaliser but heads didn’t drop and the England forward line led by Tony Jones always looked dangerous on the break.
A few minutes into the final period Stephenson tucked away what was to prove a winning goal and the defence again rose to the occasion to see out the last few minutes. England, perhaps against the odds, had become the first Over 80 European Champions.
In a final friendly match against guest Australian team Southern Cross England maintained their 100% record with a 2-0 win, both goals scored by Tony Jones.
England team manager Stephenson praised the whole squad, saying: “It was a great team performance and the group bonded well both on the pitch and off. We must now set our sights on the WMH Masters World Cup in the Netherlands next year.”
It proved to be a European Championships clean sweep for the four England teams at Ludwigsburg with wins in the other finals for England O65 (8-0 against Belgium), England O70 (4-1 against Germany) and England O75 (3-1 against Germany).
