It was an exciting start to the match play phase at the 2025 European Team Championships across the continent.

Countries went head-to-head in 42 different matches on Thursday with teams fighting for places in the semi-finals, for promotion, to avoid the risk of relegation, or for final position.

Multiple quarter-final matchups went right down to the wire, with extra holes required to separate some of the teams.

Highlights of the day included:

• French ladies' turn around quarter-final with Italy at the death to advance at home

• Number-one seeds England advance in men's championship after comfortable win

• Czech boys reach the semi-finals at home after tight match with the Dutch

• 8th seeds Spain knockout 1st seeds France in Girls' Team Championship

SCORES

MEN - KILLARNEY G&FC, IRELAND

England still look like the team to beat after the opening day of matchplay at Killarney Golf & Fishing Club. The English side followed up on their record-setting stroke play qualifying performance with a comfortable win over Finland on Thursday.

Their opponents for the semi-finals, Italy, had anything but as simple of a day. After going down 2-0 in the morning foursomes, the Italians required something special in the afternoon to defeat a strong French team, and they found it. Four singles wins, with the other in extra holes, meant Italy would advance to the semi-finals

The bottom half of the flight A draw saw the hosts take on the defending champions, while Denmark faced Germany.

After splitting the morning foursomes, the Irish opening singles all returned points to seal a 5-2 victory and a spot in the finals.

Denmark edged out Germany in a tight encounter, and will stand in the way of Ireland as they look to make a first men's final appearance since 2014.

In Flight B, where teams compete for positions 9 to 16, but also to avoid relegation to Division 2, Spain comfortably defeated Portugal to secure their Division 1 spot for next year. Poland, who finished last in the stroke play qualifying, upset 9th place finishers Czech Republic 3-2, and will join Spain in the men's top competition for 2026.

Switzerland and the Netherlands also confirmed their spots with victories on Thursday, while Estonia and Iceland will join the Czechs and Portugal in the fight for the last spot for Division 1 over the next two days.

WOMEN - GOLF DE CHANTILLY, FRANCE

Spain, Germany, Sweden and France are the remaining contestants for medals in Golf de Chantilly. The most incredible scenario occurred between Italy and this week’s home team France, with the latter pulling off a miracle in the final moments.

Italy drew first blood in the morning foursomes, scoring two full points on the final hole to get a big advantage. France did fight back in the five afternoon singles, but still had its back firmly against the wall when two matches were still on the course with one to play, and Italy needing only one point to claim victory. Camille Min-Gaultier gave hope to the French side, making birdie at the final par-5 to win her match against Matilde Partele. Meanwhile, Golf de Chantilly player Valentine Delon fought her way to a playoff against Natalia Aparicio. After a brilliant iron shot on the 19th hole, she holed a 10-footer to send her team to the semi-finals.

The three other quarter finals were tied at the end of the morning foursomes. Having to face number-1 seed Spain, England showed big resistance, with Nellie Ong and Lily Hirst winning the top match in 20 holes. Yet, Spain showed its superiority in the afternoon singles, although four players had to fight until the 17th green and further to bring a point. 

Spain’s opponent in the semi-finals will be defending champion, Germany. Charlotte Back and Paula Schulz-Hanssen won a big point in the morning for the Germans, needing 19 holes to defeat Carys Worby and Millie Cottrell from Wales. Back and Schulz-Hanssen did the job yet again in the afternoon, winning their singles as well as Chiara Hörder, who sealed the deal in match number-3.

France will have to face Sweden, who was able to edge Ireland in the afternoon singles. Although the Irish were able to score two points of their own, Moa Svendeskiold and Kajsalotta Svarvar put the Swedes one point away from moving on. A solid iron shot on the long par-3 16th enabled Meja Örtengren to beat Emma Fleming, thus ending the match. 

BOYS - GOLF RESORT KASKADA BRNO, CZECH REPUBLIC

After tough weather in the opening days at Kaskada, this time the weather played along. A morning shower quickly passed, and although the wind remained, it was noticeably milder than in previous days. Ideal playing conditions allowed both high-quality golf and strong team spirit to shine.

The Czech team entered the match play as the top seed after winning the stroke play qualification. All four quarterfinal matches in the elite Flight A were extremely tight, with most being decided on the final hole, and in some cases even going to extra holes.

Team Czech Republic had a great start: they won both morning foursomes, one of them after a comeback from 3-down. They entered the afternoon singles matches knowing they needed just two points to advance.

Joining the host team in the semi-finals and competing for a spot in the final are:

• Sweden, who defeated Switzerland 4–3, with the deciding match going down to the last hole,

• Denmark, who celebrated a 4–3 victory over Germany,

• and France, who outclassed England with a dominant 5.5–1.5 win, not losing a single match.

Besides some fantastic team performances, the day also brought a standout individual moment – a hole-in-one! It came courtesy of Tom de Herrypon, who aced the par-3 (14th hole – the longest par-3 on the course), with a 6-iron.

In Flight B, where teams battle to avoid relegation, all matches ended with a 4–1 scoreline. But even there, the day was filled with momentum swings, brilliant shots, and emotions running high.

Austria, Norway, Wales and Belgium confirmed their spots in Division 1 with victories today, while Ireland, Scotland, Portugal and Finland will battle for the last remaining spot in over the next two days.

GIRLS - SLALEY HALL, ENGLAND

The top-two teams from the stroke play stages – France and England – were both knocked out on the first day of match play at the European Girls’ Team Championships at Slaley Hall. 

After the morning foursomes were level at 1-1, Spain rallied in the singles in the afternoon. In a dramatic last match, where France’s Giselle Zhao holed out for eagle on 17, Amanda Revuelta managed to birdie the 18th to seal a 4-3 win for Spain.  

Meanwhile, England and Ireland played out a tense contest which saw the morning foursomes finish level. England duo Lauren Crump and Sadie Adams had battled back in the first match from 3-down to all-square on the 18th before Ireland’s Roisin Scanlon landed a 40-foot birdie putt to win on the 19th.

Level at 1-1 heading into the afternoon singles, Crump won 4&3 but Ireland were in mesmerising form, particularly Scanlon, who holed some tremendous putts to fend off the reigning champions 5-2.

In the other quarter-finals, Germany battled back to a tense win over Sweden, thanks to two wins on the 18th hole in the singles from Sofia Maier-Borst and Laetitia Leisinger, who helped them secure a 4.5-2.5 win. 

Meanwhile, Italy and Czech Republic played out two thrilling morning foursomes matches, where Italy came out on top after 18 holes and 22 holes respectively, before storming to a 5.5-1.5 win overall. Spain will face Germany while Ireland will battle Italy in Friday’s semi-finals.

MEN & BOYS' DIVISION 2 - ZALA SPRINGS, HUNGARY

A mix of weather conditions awaited the players today in Hungary for the first round of match play. Sunny skies in the morning were followed by two heavy rain showers around midday, combined with strong winds throughout the day, making play particularly challenging.

In the Amateur division, Scotland defeated Slovakia 5–2. The Scots coped well with the tough conditions and will now face Wales—the top team after the two rounds of stroke play—in what promises to be an all-Great Britain and Ireland semi-final, with a spot in Saturday’s final at stake.

Also in the A flight, Belgium staged a remarkable comeback against Austria. After losing both morning foursomes, the Belgian team rallied to win four of the five afternoon singles, securing overall victory. As a result, Belgium will not compete tomorrow, having secured automatic qualification for Saturday’s final, and with it, promotion to Division 1 for next year.

On the Boys’ side, in the A matches, Iceland edged out a strong Polish team 4–3 in a tightly contested encounter that saw one match decided on the first extra hole.

Spain also thrived in the tough conditions, defeating Slovakia 5.5–1.5. After winning both morning foursomes, the Spaniards maintained their momentum in the singles, offering little opportunity for a Slovakian comeback.

In tomorrow’s quarter-finals, Italy will face Iceland, while Poland will take on Slovakia. Spain, having already qualified for the final, will enjoy a rest day before Saturday’s championship match, knowing they'll be returning to Europe's top Division in 2026.