Today marked the third and final day of the group stages for the 2021 European Mixed Team Championships. We discovered which nations made it into the pot for the semifinals draw.
Group 1
Reigning champions Denmark did not have it all their way in the group. After a 5-0 victory against the hosts Finland, it came down to the last game of the last match against their finals day opponents two years ago, Germany. In their final group match, Scotland stunned them in to another 3-2 battle going down to the wire, but they ground their way to a win.
Germany was able to surpass Scotland and Finland without a hiccup despite using a tinkered team and had the narrow 3-2 loss to Denmark.
Notable mentions go to hosts Finland, who have made their country proud and left everything out on their home court. The famous underdogs Scotland defeated a determined Finnish team 3-2 and fought the champions Denmark to the bitter end of the group stages.
Group 1 standings (points):
1 – Denmark (3)
2 – Germany (2)
3 – Scotland (1)
4 – Finland (0)
Qualified teams: Denmark & Germany
Group 2
Russia won three out of three and powered through a tricky Group 2. Only dropping two points in total, Russia is the team with the best record going into the semifinals.
France scored a pivotal win over the Netherlands on day one, relying on their top mixed doubles pair to deliver in three tight games. This proved to be vital as with a 4-1 loss to Russia, and a 4-1 win against England, they advance with two points.
The Netherlands misses out on the narrowest of margins, while a young England team take with them a lot of experience from Finland.
Group 2 standings (points):
1 - Russia (3)
2 - France – (2)
3 - Netherlands (1)
4 – England (0)
Qualified teams: Russia & France
Sudirman Cup 2021
Denmark, Russia, Germany and France qualify for the Sudirman Cup 2021 which is due to take place 23-30 May 2021.
The Draw
The draw consists of two pots, with the group winners in one pot and the runners up in the other. A nation from the winners pot was picked first, followed by one of the runners-up to create each semifinal.
Semifinal draw result:
Denmark vs Germany (Friday 19 Feb 18:00 EET)
Russia vs France (Friday 19 Feb 13:00 EET)
The fixtures are repeats of the matches played out in the group stages. For more information, click here.