The England Leopards men’s squad will face either Slovakia or Estonia, whilst the women’s squad will face either Spain or Switzerland in their bid to qualify for the Champions Division of the European Championships.
England Leopards Men
With two wins and one loss, England men are sat in a guaranteed second position in their qualifying group.
It means the Leopards will face a play-off home and away match against the runner up of Group E. The winner will qualify for the Champions Division of the European Championships.
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As there is just one point separating Slovakia and Estonia, the runner up of Group E is still yet to be decided.
The two teams face each other on March 7th in Slovakia and the winner will finish second in their group.
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The home fixture of England men’s play-off will take place on the week beginning April 11th and the away fixture will take place on the week beginning April 18th.
Although the focus of the England Leopards will be on preparing for an important play-off match, they must first complete their remaining group game against Netherlands.
With a strong 3-0 victory against the Netherlands under their belt from earlier in the group stage, the England Leopards should be quietly confident of a win on home soil.
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England Leopards Women
The England Leopards women are currently sat in second position in their group, with one match to go.
They face an away match against Slovenia on March 7th. The winner will finish in the play-off position.
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Should the Leopards win, they will be matched against the runner up of group E, which could be Spain or Switzerland.
The remaining Group E match is also scheduled for March 7th and will take place in Spain.
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The women’s play-off will take place on opposite nights to men’s matches, with an England women’s away fixture scheduled for the week beginning April 11th and the home fixture scheduled for the week beginning April 18th.
The European Championships qualification format
- 30 men’s and women’s teams were invited to take part the first stage of the European Championships qualification.
- The teams were seeded and split into 10 groups of 3.
- The winners of each group qualify directly for the Championship Division.
- The teams who finish bottom of their group qualify for the Challenge Division.
- The 10 teams who finish in second place are drawn into five play-off matches, playing each other home and away.
- The winners of each play-off qualify for the Champions Division, while the losers will qualify for the Challenge Division.