In a direct battle for the last qualification spot for the 2027 World Lacrosse Men’s Championship available at the 2025 European Men’s Lacrosse Championship, Germany outlasted a strong France comeback effort for a 14-10 win.
Germany will appear in its eighth edition of the Men’s Championship, having appeared in the last seven iterations dating back to 1998. The Germans finished their seven games in Wroclaw with five wins, including victories over Czechia, Poland and France, all teams that were at the 2023 Men’s Championship.
Germany took seventh place while France finished in eighth. France qualified for the 2027 World Lacrosse Men’s Division II Championship.
Germany wasted no time in the must-win game with six goals in the first quarter, with veteran stars Wynton Bastian and Lasse Volquardsen taking over with two goals apiece.
Germany led 11-2 with a minute left before halftime with the game looking nearly out of reach, but France summoned its last reserves for a comeback push.
Gabriel Furey assists four goals in a row and France snowballed momentum in the third quarter with seven goals in a row. Furey had five assists and a goal within the run.
At 11-9, Germany finally regained control of the game with a 12th goal and even though France cut the lead to two again with nine minutes to go, Bastian and Volquardsen stepped up once again for game sealing goals.
Volquardsen delivered six goals and one assist while Bastian had four. Mikhail Zinoviev also made 12 saves for Germany.
Furey turned in a Herculean effort in defeat, racking up three goals and six assists while Remy Giacotto helped France’s comeback with a 13 of 19 showing on face offs.
Germany is the seventh team from Europe to secure its spot in the field at the 2027 Men’s Championship, joining Czechia, England, Ireland, Israel, Italy and Latvia as well as the host Japan.
