Text: Erkki Miinala
Photos: Erik Kok
The third EGCA Youth (U23) Championships of all time were played in Utrecht, the Netherlands, from 14–16 November.
The tournament was organized by USV Hercules and the EGCA. It broke participation records, featuring nine teams from six different countries. A total of 45 athletes aged 14–23 took part. Below is a summary of the tournament. You can find all match results and statistics here.
The teams played a single round-robin group stage, after which the group winners advanced directly to the semifinals. The second- and third-placed teams moved on to the play-off stage, where Group A’s runner-up met Group B’s third-placed team, and Group B’s runner-up faced Group A’s third-placed team. The bottom two teams from Group A and the last-placed team from Group B played for positions 7–9.
GROUP A – DOMINANCE FROM THE DEFENDING CHAMPION
Group A featured the two-time Youth Championships winner RGC Hansa from Germany, the silver medallists from two years ago Northern Allstars (Great Britain), the host team USV Hercules, BSI Copenhagen (Denmark), and GC Leipzig (Germany).
RGC Hansa, led by European top players such as John Turloff and Kilian Kollrep, dominated Group A convincingly, winning all four games with a 10-goal margin. All six players on the roster saw playing time and found the net during the group stage. BSI Copenhagen finished second—despite a rough start with a 0–10 loss to RGC Hansa. In their second match, BSI trailed Northern Allstars 2–9 early in the second half, but six goals from Jens Dahl pulled them level, and in the final half-minute Silas Friis-Hansen equalized and then scored the winner 0.5 seconds before the buzzer. Energized by this incredible comeback, the Danes went on to defeat both USV Hercules and GC Leipzig by 10 goals, securing A Group’s first play-off spot.
GC Leipzig made their Youth Championships debut with a clear strategy: win the “right” matches. They beat host USV Hercules in a wild 21–20 game and clinched a play-off place after surprising Northern Allstars 6–5, having led 6–2 at one point. Northern Allstars, who opened the tournament with a 17–7 win over Hercules, took fourth place in Group A, leaving the hosts last due to their fragile defensive play.
GROUP B – CELEBRATION FOR THE OTHER TOP FAVOURITE
Group B included four teams: last year’s silver medallists and RGC Hansa’s main challenger FSBU Gothenburg (Sweden), the up-and-coming Aarhus Goalball (Denmark), Aisti Sport (Finland), led by Champions League standout Eemi Utriainen, and debutants Füchse Berlin with a very young squad.
FSBU Gothenburg showed their class by winning all group matches, though Aarhus Goalball—who finished second—put up a tough fight. Their encounter ended in a narrow 6–4 win for Gothenburg. Aarhus opened the tournament with a crucial 9–8 victory over Aisti Sport and later crushed Füchse Berlin 15–5, with Sigurd Lund scoring 11 goals. This secured Aarhus the first play-off spot from Group B.
Aisti Sport and Füchse Berlin battled for the second play-off ticket. Berlin’s 17-year-old sensation Mogdim Ehzan delivered a stunning performance, scoring 12 goals against Aisti Sport. Although Aisti striker Eemi Utriainen answered with 10 goals, the young Berlin side pulled off a huge upset to advance to the play-offs, sending Aisti to the placement games.
PLACEMENT MATCHES FOR 7–9 – AISTI SPORT STRONGEST UNDER UTRIAINEN
Aisti Sport bounced back after missing the play-offs. They convincingly defeated both USV Hercules and Northern Allstars, finishing seventh in the Youth Championships for the third year in a row. Eemi Utriainen scored 10 goals in each placement match, bringing his total tally to 40.
PLAY-OFFS – FÜCHSE BERLIN CONTINUED THEIR SURPRISE RUN
In the first play-off game, Aarhus Goalball and GC Leipzig were evenly matched in the opening minutes, but as the half progressed Aarhus took control, leading 10–4 at halftime. They maintained their dominance in the second half, winning 14–4 before full time. Sigurd Lund once again shone with 10 goals.
In the second play-off, BSI Copenhagen seemed to be heading to the semifinals as Denmark’s second representative, leading 5–2 early in the second half. But they suddenly collapsed, and Füchse Berlin seized the moment. Mogdim Ehzan’s nine goals carried Berlin to their second major upset of Saturday.
BSI Copenhagen recovered well from the disappointment, defeating GC Leipzig 11–1 in Sunday’s 5th–6th place match. Jens Dahl—who recently overcame severe health issues—proved his return to international form by scoring 27 goals in the tournament.
SEMIFINALS – THE FAVOURITES STOOD FIRM
The first semifinal on Sunday morning between RGC Hansa and Aarhus Goalball was practically decided before it began. Aarhus had no answer for John Turloff’s relentless scoring. The match ended when Turloff scored his eighth goal from a penalty 0.7 seconds before halftime, giving RGC Hansa an 11–1 win and their third consecutive place in the Youth Championships final.
FSBU Gothenburg started cautiously against Füchse Berlin, but as the first half progressed their superiority became clear. Felix Rosvall was in top form, scoring 10 goals in a match that ended in a 15–5 Gothenburg win.
MEDAL MATCHES – RGC HANSA CLAIMED A THIRD STRAIGHT TITLE IN A THRILLER, AARHUS WON BRONZE
The bronze medal match between Aarhus Goalball and Füchse Berlin was one-sided. Aarhus’ star striker Sigurd Lund and the tournament’s youngest player, 14-year-old Valdemar Kristensen, scored steadily. The match ended midway through the second half at 11–1, giving Aarhus their first ever Youth Championships medal after last year’s fourth place. Füchse Berlin nonetheless showed great promise in their debut.
The final between RGC Hansa and FSBU Gothenburg lived up to its billing. Last year, Hansa won 9–7 on home soil, and once again they had to chase the game after Jacob Hansson-Bärring scored the opening goal—his first of the tournament. Gothenburg’s defence was outstanding, with their brilliant young center player Alexander Smedberg making spectacular saves. Gothenburg led 2–1 for a long period, before Kilian Kollrep equalized and John Turloff quickly made it 3–2. Felix Rosvall responded immediately to level the score. Eight seconds before halftime, Turloff converted a penalty for 4–3, but Rosvall struck again with two seconds remaining.
Early in the second half, Gothenburg repeatedly stretched their lead to two goals. Turloff carried Hansa offensively and rose to the challenge. With 30 seconds left, 17-year-old Hansson-Bärring scored his third goal to put Gothenburg up 10–8. But Turloff refused to give in—he made it 9–10 with 26 seconds left and equalized with 2.5 seconds remaining, forcing overtime.
In overtime, Hansa created several great chances, but Gothenburg somehow survived. The decisive moment came just over two minutes before the end, when Felix Rosvall’s throw resulted in a long-ball penalty. Turloff coolly buried the penalty to score the golden goal. Just like last year, he scored nine goals in the final, securing RGC Hansa their third consecutive championship. After a heroic effort, FSBU Gothenburg earned their second straight silver. This was John Turloff’s final Youth Championships appearance, but fans will surely enjoy many more years of his brilliance in the Champions League.
UTRIAINEN TOP SCORER, LUND NAMED MVP
The battle for the tournament’s top scorer title was intense, but Aisti Sport’s Eemi Utriainen claimed the crown with 40 goals. Sigurd Lund, who finished second with 38 goals, was named the tournament most valuable player – MVP. FSBU Gothenburg’s Felix Rosvall placed third with 34 goals, followed by Mogdim Ehzan and John Turloff with 33 each.
Final Ranking
- RGC Hansa
- FSBU Gothenburg
- Aarhus Goalball
- Füchse Berlin
- BSI Copenhagen
- GC Leipzig
- Aisti Sport
- Northern Allstars
- USV Hercules