Report on the 2015 U20 World Championships of Rink Hockey in Vilanova, Spain
The 2015 U20 World Championships of Rink Hockey in Vilanova finished with a top match between the two nations of the Iberian Peninsula: Spain and Portugal. France completed the Top-3. Report...
Par alfathor
A two-tier championship?
In view of the results of the 2015 edition, there were two groups of nations in those U20 championships…
Group No.1: The rising nations
The interminable scores of their opponents throughout their games showed that India, Egypt, the USA and South Africa don’t have the level to face the other nations of rink hockey yet. The raise of the question of a B championship is legitimate. However, the small number of nations in that group makes it less meaningful…
Group No.2: The historical nations
The Latin countries keep their supremacy after those worlds. In short, the Top-7 are Latin countries!
The Top-5 has quite a homogeneous level, although Spain and Portugal are a cut above the rest. During the semi-finals, we saw that France was able to put Spain in jeopardy, at home. As for Italy, they gave a good hiding to France during the Group phases before losing after penalty shoot-outs in small final. Just before, in semi-finals, Portugal, the world title-holder, defeated Italy by only one point.
Moreover, Argentina finished first of Group C before giving a hard time to France in quarter-finals. Proof that everything can change in one game!
The title race
Spain remains the most successful nation with 24 titles, but Portugal has now 19! And with 5 titles in a row, the Lusitanians seem ready to fight for their trophy. Italy is third with 8 titles.
Germany’s heydays are long gone. The Germans, yet four times finalists, haven’t taken part in a final since 1983.
France aspiring to the honorable mention
France has been flirting with the final for 20 years but never managed to reach it yet! They have got the bronze four times since 1953, and mostly in the last years. Promising fact: For 20 years, the French have reached the Top-4 nine times.
Final ranking
| Pos. | Country | |
| 1. | Portugal |  |
| 2. | Spain |  |
| 3. | France |  |
| 4. | Italy |  |
| 5. | Argentina |  |
| 6. | Chili |  |
| 7. | Colombia |  |
| 8. | Switzerland |  |
| 9. | Andorra |  |
| 10. | Germany |  |
| 11. | Great Britain |  |
| 12. | India |  |
| 13. | Egypt |  |
| 14. | Angola |  |
| 15. | USA |  |
| 16. | South Africa |  |
Links
Our page dedicated to the 2015 U20 World Championships of Rink Hockey
The U20 World Championships of Rink Hockey on Wikipedia
Translation: Chloe Seyres
Photos : Portugese Federation
Marzia Cattini and organization
