England secured its spot at the 2027 World Lacrosse Men’s Championship with an 18-4 win over France in the first quarterfinal of the 2025 European Men’s Lacrosse Championship on Wednesday in Wroclaw.
England shot out of the gates and opened scoring inside 12 seconds with Drew Bickerton finding the net. When Tom Roper extended the lead inside 10 minutes and a double salvo by Edward Loveland made it 4-0 just moments later, the floodgates appeared to open.
Facing a 9-0 deficit at the main break, France came out firing, notching two goals in the opening minutes of the third quarter before England wrested back the ascendancy, ultimately cruising home to record an 18-4 win.
Alex Russell scored four, while Loveland added a hat-trick and an assist.
Mackenzie Moreland was insatiable at the draw, winning 12 of 14 faceoffs, repeatedly giving his nation first use of the ball.
For France, Justin Rosenberg scored a pair and assisted one, with Lucas Menendez and Lucas Goeller rounding out the score sheet.
England became the first team in Europe to punch its ticket to Tokyo in 2027, and joins Japan in the 16-team field.
England will make its 15th appearance in the championship and has appeared in every edition dating back to 1967.
France will play two more placement matches in Wroclaw and needs one more win to earn its bid.
England continues play at the European Men’s Championship on Thursday and will face the winner of Israel vs. Latvia in the second semifinal at 7 p.m. CEST.
