General News
England and France reunited in European U19 Mixed Team final
Mar312024
England will face France for the third year in a row in the final of the ESF European Under-19 Mixed Team Championship after both coasted through their semi-finals in Bucharest.
Defending champions England had reached the semis on Saturday thanks to a quarter-final win over the Netherlands earlier in the day. Guido Lindner retired injured after losing the first game against AbdAllah Eissa and Amelie Haworth, the newly-crowned European Individual champion, dispatched Renske Huntelaar in straight games.
In their semi-final match-up with fourth seeds Switzerland, England were equally ruthless. Mariam Eissa lost the first game 11-9 against Norina Malbasic, but sailed through the next three; then Jonah Bryant and AbdAllah Eissa won in straight games.
France also got through their quarter-final with ease against Scotland as European Individual runners-up Melvil Scianimanico and Lauren Baltayan both won in straight games and Amir Khaled-Jousselin also won the dead rubber.
In the semis, Les Bleus encountered little resistance against Czech Republic apart from Baltayan losing the first game against ESF ranked No.7 Karolina Srmakova. She won the next three before Scianimanico saw off Vojtech Martinovsky and Antonin Romieu won the dead rubber.
So, England will take on France at 1400 local time on Sunday, with England seeking a 13th successive title, after Czech Republic and Switzerland have faced off for bronze.
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