Latvia and Czechia guaranteed a top-seven finish on Thursday at the 2025 European Men’s Lacrosse Championship with wins over France and Germany, guaranteeing qualification for the 2027 World Lacrosse Men’s Championship.
Czechia’s overtime winner over Germany capped one of the games of the year.
Both teams have made multiple appearances at the men’s championship, but each has defeated a trio of teams that finished above them at the last men’s championship in 2023. Latvia, who finished 20th place in the 2023 edition, has defeated Netherlands, Scotland and France while Czechia, who finished 22nd, defeated Germany, Poland and Wales.
In the semifinals of the EMLC, Italy defeated Ireland, 10-8, and Israel took down England, 8-6, in a pair of hard-fought two-goal margin battles to set up the gold medal game.
Italy advanced to its first ever final at the EMLC while Israel reached its second. In the 11th edition of the event, Saturday’s final will be the first not to feature England.
John Piatelli’s five-point outing and goalkeeper Michael Dominick Ippoliti’s 14 saves helped Italy repeat its winning formula over a strong Ireland squad. Italy also had a strong day on face offs, winning 15 of 20.
In a tight defensive game played by both England and Israel, Drew Morris’ nine saves for Israel were a key factor. Ryan Cohen’s three goals and an assist also came up clutch.
In the race for 21st place and the last spot in the 2027 World Lacrosse Men’s Division II Championship, Sweden and Denmark earned big wins to set up a direct battle on Saturday.
Statistics throughout the championship are available at worldlacrosse.sport/emlc25, as well as the full schedule for Friday. Live streaming is free at WL TV and LAX TV.
