The England Men’s squad for the forthcoming EuroHockey Nations Championships has been announced.  England will begin their campaign for the European title and British Olympic qualification on Sunday 19 August at Belle Vue in Manchester when they take on Belgium.  They will then play the Czech Republic and Germany before the classification matches take place between 24-26 August.  Spain, the Netherlands, France and Ireland will play in the other pool of the eight team tournament.

The selected 18 is largely unchanged to last year’s World Cup squad with Ben Marsden – who was forced to withdraw after picking up a late injury – and Ashley Jackson the only two additions to the team which finished in fifth place – an impressive six places above their pre-tournament seeding.  They replace Ben Hawes, who has been left out of the squad, and Jerome Goudie who retired from international hockey earlier this year.

12 of the squad – Brothers, Kirkham, Alexander, Daly, Garrard, Clarke, Moore, Cordon, Wilson, Middleton, Tindall and Marsden – played in the last European Cup in Leipzig when England finished in sixth spot.

Hawes, replaced by Wilson, is the only change from the squad which competed in the BDO Champions Challenge last month in Belgium when England finished in fourth place in the six team tournament.

Should England finish in the top three of the EuroHockey Nations Championships, they will secure qualification on behalf of Great Britain for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and this will be the squad’s main aim in front of a home crowd in Manchester.

Head Coach Jason Lee said “The team is in good shape and have made steady progress since the Champions Challenge.  Alistair Wilson has forced his way in to the squad following good performances recently and he provides many options for the team as he is very comfortable playing as a forward or as a defender.  Clearly the first game is very important and the team feel they are ready to face the challenge ahead”.

England men’s team for EuroHockey Nations Championship:

Nick Brothers (GK), Glenn Kirkham, Richard Alexander, Richard Mantell, Ashley Jackson, Simon Mantell, Martin Jones, Matt Daly, Brett Garrard, Jonty Clarke, Rob Moore, Scott Cordon, Alistair Wilson, Barry Middleton, James Tindall, Jon Bleby, Ben Marsden, James Fair (GK).

Source: England Hockey