Italy and Czechia have emerged as the leaders of their respective groups, with Italy maintaining an unbeaten record. France and the Netherlands follow closely as the second-placed teams. Israel and Great Britain have also secured their spots in the super round, making up the top six teams in Europe who are now competing for the title of European Champion.
Ukraine secured a narrow 3-2 victory over Israel. Great Britain dominated Austria with an 11-0 win, while Croatia triumphed over Denmark in a high-scoring game, finishing 23-13. Israel managed to overcome Czechia with a 7-4 win, and Germany defeated Austria 9-1. Switzerland edged out Finland with a close 7-6 victory.
In the afternoon, France defeated Israel 9-3, and Croatia won against Switzerland 9-2. The Netherlands showed their strength with an 8-1 win against Great Britain. Denmark was overpowered by Belgium with a 17-2 scoreline. Italy narrowly won against Czechia 2-1 in a thrilling match.
The game between Austria and Ukraine was suspended and will be resumed on Saturday. Two games, Germany vs. Ireland and Finland vs. Poland, were postponed and will be played tomorrow.
The Azzurre are the only team to remain undefeated.
Fans can catch all the games live on softballeurope.tv. Live play-by-play can be found on the WBSC Europe event's website.
Cover photo by Piotr Nowak