In today’s second session, the final two nations joining Denmark and England in tomorrow’s semi finals were determined.
France vs Czechia
France had dominated their first two matches, securing 5-0 victories over both the Netherlands and Germany. Today, they faced Czechia, who had previously defeated the Netherlands but lost to Germany in the group stage.
As expected, the French favorites got off to a strong start, with Toma Popov defeating Dominik Kopřiva 21-12, 21-16.
The second match featured two young, talented players—21-year-old Anna Tatranova from France against 19-year-old Petra Maixnerová. The first set was a long and thrilling battle that could have gone either way, but in the end, Maixnerová edged it 26-24. She carried that momentum into the second set, winning convincingly 21-13 to equalize the team match at 1-1.
After the match, Maixnerová expressed her excitement:
"I feel amazing because last time I lost against her in three sets, and I am so happy that I didn’t today."
For the young Czech player, competing against some of the world’s best is a new experience:
"Being among the best players in Europe is amazing."
Despite Maixnerová’s optimism about her team’s chances, the French world-class players quickly demonstrated why they are among the best. In the men’s doubles, the Popov brothers delivered a solid performance, securing a 21-14, 21-12 victory.
A closely contested women’s doubles match followed, where reigning European Champion Margot Lambert and reigning European Junior Champion Camille Pognante overcame Tereza Švábíková and Kateřina Zuzáková with a hard-fought 19-21, 21-10, 21-18 win.
Finally, world-ranked number 8 pair Delphine Delrue and Thom Gicquel sealed the overall victory for France with a dominant 21-7, 21-13 win, ensuring a 4-1 team triumph and securing the top spot in Group 2.
Germany vs Netherlands
In the other Group 2 match, Germany and the Netherlands faced off, with Germany needing a win to secure a semi-final spot. If the Netherlands emerged victorious, the tie would come down to individual match records.
Germany took an early lead as Miranda Wilson delivered a solid performance to defeat young Dutch player Flora Wang.
In the second match, experienced Fabian Roth battled Noah Haase in a marathon showdown lasting 1 hour and 8 minutes. Ultimately, it was Roth who emerged victorious, edging out Haase 22-24, 22-20, 21-16, putting Germany up 2-0.
The women’s doubles match was another tight contest, but once again, Germany prevailed with a 21-18, 21-17 win. After the match, Franziska Volkmann reflected on their performance:
"I think we got better over time. The first set was a really hard fight, but we kept on going and won it, and then we started really well in the second set."
Daniel Hess and Marvin Seidel extended Germany’s lead to 4-0, before Franziska Volkmann and Jan Colin Voelker wrapped up the tie with a 5-0 sweep.
Semi final draw
Tomorrow, Denmark and Germany will face off in the early session at 7 AM CET, followed by France vs England at 12 PM CET.
All matches can be watched live on BadmintonEurope.tv.