The Czech Republic secured qualification for next year’s U20 European Championships in both the women’s and men’s competitions after winning the MEVZA U20 qualification tournaments, held from Thursday to Sunday.
In the women’s final, the Czech Republic defeated Croatia 3:0 (25-20, 25-18, 25-23) to claim the gold medal and book their place at the U20 European Championship. Croatia finished the tournament with silver and will have another opportunity to qualify in the second round of European Championship qualification, scheduled for January 2027.
Slovenia completed the women’s podium after a dramatic 3:2 victory over Slovakia in the bronze medal match. The Slovenians came back from behind to win 18-25, 27-25, 23-25, 28-26, 15-12 and secure the bronze medal.
The Czech Republic also celebrated in the men’s competition, beating Austria 3:0 (25-23, 25-16, 25-21) in the final. With the victory, the Czech U20 men’s team secured its place at next year’s European Championship, while Austria took silver.
Slovenia claimed the men’s bronze medal, defeating Israel 3:1 (25-23, 25-20, 25-16, 25-23) in the third-place match.
The second round of the U20 European Championship qualification will take place in January 2027, with the teams finishing from second to fifth in this first qualification round set to continue their qualification campaigns.
