European Cup: U16 women bounce back with emphatic win over Italy
From 22 to 26 April, the U16 women's national teams of Germany, Italy, Poland, Hungary, Austria, France, Slovakia and Norway competed for the title at the European Cup in Füssen, Germany. The eight nations were initially divided into two groups of four. Depending on their placing, the group winners subsequently competed for the title, the second-placed teams for bronze, the third-placed teams for 5th place and the fourth-placed teams for 7th place.
2 min read
Austria faced France, Norway and Slovakia in Group A. Over the course of four days, the nations played three round-robin matches within their respective groups, followed by the final crossover match against the equally placed team from the other group on Sunday.
For the conclusion of the current 2025/2026 season, U16 Head Coach Tomas Kala has named a 20-player squad.
Austria's ÖEHV selection opened the European Cup with a 3:4 overtime defeat to Slovakia, before narrowly losing 5:6 to France on Thursday. They concluded the group stage with a 2:4 defeat to Norway.
Austria faced Italy in the match for 7th place on Sunday morning. After taking a 2:0 lead in the first period, they put the game beyond doubt in the middle period, extending their advantage to 7:0 before deservedly prevailing 10:0 in the end.
Head Coach Tomas Kala: “We played three tough matches against strong opponents. Although our team was younger and not as physically big as the teams from Norway or France, we were able to compete well. Our aim is to prepare the players step by step for future challenges, with an eye on the coming years and possible appearances at the U18 World Championship. A particular focus was on the fundamentals, such as team spirit, communication and work in the defensive zone. In the end, we were able to reward ourselves with a deserved win – and without conceding a goal. That shows that the team implemented the instructions very well. I am really proud of the girls. They functioned as a team, fought for one another and took an important step in their development.”
European Cup 2026
22–26 April 2026, Füssen (GER)
Match for 7th place
Italy vs. Austria 0:10 (0:2, 0:5, 0:3)
Sun, 26 April 2026, 11:00
Austria goalscorers: Anna Unterrieder (4th minute), Antonia Falkner (10nd minute, 58th minute, 58th minute), Emilia Mosser (21st minute), Johanna Sintschnig (24th minute, 32nd minute, 47th minute), Josephine Postma (35th minute), Caitlyn Vospernik (37th minute/PP),
Group stage results
Slovakia vs. Austria 4:3 after overtime (0:0, 0:1, 3:2, 1:0)
Wed, 22 April 2026, 14:30
Slovakia goalscorers: Sofia Stranovska (42nd minute, 56th minute), Lucia Lipcakova (46th minute), Ema Klimova (63rd minute)
Austria goalscorers: Johanna Sintschnig (33rd minute, 52nd minute), Anna Brandtner (60th minute)
Austria vs. France 5:6 (4:1, 0:1, 1:4)
Thu, 23 April 2026, 15:00
Austria scorers: Caitlyn Vospernik (13, 20/PP), Josephine Postma (13), Johanna Sintschnig (19, 53),
France scorers: Lea Barthe de Montmejan (10), Anais Girardet (39), Albane Bernel (42/PP, 60), Lena Gachon Berger (51), Nina Pevet (56/PP)
Norway vs. Austria 4:2 (0:0, 1:1, 3:1)
Sat, 25 April 2026, 11:30
Norway scorers: Matilde Rath (23/PP, 48), Cecilie Sivertsen Andresen (47), Ellinor Nyhus Myhre (57)
Austria scorers: Leonie Becker (25), Anna Unterrieder (49)
