The German women’s goalball team walked away from the 2024 International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) Goalball European Championships B in Lignano Sabbiadoro, Italy, as champions on Tuesday (4 June), following a stunning win over Poland.

With promotion to Pool A already secured, the two sides were fighting for honours in the final.

Germany were the first to score courtesy of Jennifer Koch and two more goals followed in the first four minutes.

Germany were an impressive seven goals up at the end of the first half, with goals from Koch and Annkathrin Denker contributing to their sizeable lead.

To start the second half, both teams changed it-up. Germany swapped out all three players and only one of Poland’s line-up remained.

The tactics proved to work for both teams as Poland got themselves on the board. But Germany also had an immediate reply, scoring on the next throw.

The Polish kept themselves calm and Katarzyna Twardoch added another for her side.

Unfortunately for Poland, Germany proved too strong and those two goals were all they could manage. The Germans ended-up widening the gap to 10 goals to secure their victory, ending the tournament unbeaten.

“We’re very proud of being the champion, it was our goal,” Germany’s head coach said.

Spain secured the bronze and final promotion spot in their final against Hungary.

The Hungarians were hoping for an immediate return to the top flight following their relegation in December, but they had not accounted for a Spanish team on the march.

It turned out that Hungary could not sustain their defence longer than the end of the first half. A good start saw them level on 3-3 at the first whistle but Spain’s Sara Alvarez turned up the heat after that.

Team top scorer Alvarez gave Spain the lead for the first time in the game, powering the ball past Hungary with Spain’s first throw after the re-start. It was not long before Alvarez once again found the back of the net to give Spain a two-goal buffer.

Substitution Sonia Lopez made an instant impact with just under nine minutes left on the clock, adding another for the Spanish. Alvarez then added to her total once again.

Lopez went on to prove to be an inspired sub, adding even more goals before the buzzer to take Spain into double figures. The final score was 10-4.

Of his team’s return to Pool A for the first time since 2016, Spanish coach Paco Monreal said: “First of all, thank you to Hungary for being a very strong opponent and ensuring my girls had to do their best. We came here with the objective to reach the European A, we went the long and hard way but now, we can enjoy it.

“It means that these players worked very hard and they now show they have the level to reach promotion. We have other, young players starting and I hope this is the inspiration to come to the national team and fight with these players to get on the team.”

The 2024 IBSA Goalball European Championships B will now take a one-day break before the start of the men’s competition on Thursday (6 June).

Belgium, Denmark, Spain, France, Greece, Italy, Montenegro, Poland, Portugal and Sweden will all fight for the title and promotion to Pool A.

France in particular will be hoping for a good tournament ahead of taking up their host slot at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games this summer.