Update – July 18
England and Israel advanced to the final of the 2024 Women’s European Lacrosse Championship after winning their semifinals in Braga on Thursday.
England defeated Scotland 11-5 while Israel powered past Wales 14-4.
The two teams will meet in the final on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. local time.
Germany also claimed one of the seven qualification spots available for the 2026 World Lacrosse Women’s Championship with a 6-5 comeback win over the Czech Republic.
Ireland claimed the second spot available on the day with a tense 11-9 win over Italy.
Update – July 17
Israel, England, Scotland and Wales have qualified for the 2026 World Lacrosse Women’s Championship in Japan after winning their quarterfinal matchups on Wednesday, July 17 at the Women’s European Lacrosse Championship.
Scotland earned the fourth spot up for grabs on the day after holding off a late Germany comeback in an 11-8 win.
Wales prevailed in a 10-8 nailbiter over Ireland in the third quarterfinal of the day. England methodically dispatched the Czech Republic, 8-4, while Israel bested Italy 19-5.
The Czech Republic, Germany, Ireland and Italy are still in contention for a top-seven finish in the event, with two more spots on the line tomorrow.
The Czech Republic and Germany will face off at 5 p.m. local time before Ireland and Italy meet at at 7:30 p.m. local time.
The semifinals of the European Lacrosse Championship are set for Thursday at 12:30 and 4:30 p.m. local time, with England facing Scotland in a rivalry matchup in the first semifinal and Wales and Israel set for the second semifinal.
The journey to the 2026 World Lacrosse Women’s Championship starts today as the 2024 Women’s European Lacrosse Championship begins in Braga, Portugal, running through July 20. The event will include 19 participating nations and 70 games, taking place across three venues: 1 May Stadium, Bridge Field and Camellias Sports Complex.
“We are all looking forward to a great event featuring 19 teams, and first timers Poland and the host Portugal,” said Ron Balls, president of the European Lacrosse Federation. “The opening ceremony commences today with athletes marching through Braga.”
Live results throughout the tournament can be found here.
The event includes 10 top-20 teams, based on the results of the 2022 Women’s Championship: England (3), Israel (6), Czech Republic (7), Wales (9), Scotland (10), Ireland (13), Germany (14), Netherlands (17), Italy (18) and Latvia (20). The 19 competing teams are among 35 member nations in the ELF.
Teams have been seeded into four groups for round-robin play. The top seven finishers will qualify automatically for the women’s championship in 2026, which will be held in Japan.
After pool play, the top 12 teams will advance to the playoff bracket. The quarterfinal winners will automatically qualify for 2026, as well as the fifth through seventh place finishers in placement games.
This event marks the first continental qualifier for the 2026 World Lacrosse Women’s Championship, in which the top 16 women’s field lacrosse teams in the world will compete based on the following allocations by Continental Federation:
African Association of Lacrosse: 1
Asia Pacific Lacrosse Union: 4
European Lacrosse Federation: 7
Pan-American Lacrosse Association: 4
The 2026 Women’s Championship will mark the first in WL’s new championship format, with 16 teams competing based on results from continental qualifiers. All 16 teams have to earn their place in the championship at a qualifying event.
The Division II women’s championship is expected to launch in 2026 with an additional 16 teams participating. Nine of the additional 16 teams will be determined at this continental qualifier from the final placements of 8-16.
All games for the Women’s European Lacrosse Championship will be streamed on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@WELC2024.
Additional information, including a full schedule, can be found at the event website and via the event’s Facebook and Instagram accounts.
