# 2009 Men's EuroHockey Nations Challenge I

The 2009 Men's EuroHockey Nations Challenge I was the third edition of the Men's EuroHockey Nations Challenge I, the third level of the European field hockey Championships organized by the European Hockey Federation. It was held from 25 to 31 July 2009 in Zagreb, Croatia.
The tournament also served as a qualifier for the 2011 Men's EuroHockey Championship II, with the finalists, Ukraine and Sweden, qualifying.
The 15 games in the tournament witnessed 81 goals being scored.

## Qualified teams

The following seven teams, shown with pre-tournament world rankings, competed in the tournament.
| Dates | Event | Location | Quotas | Qualifiers |
| 9—12 September 2007 | 2007 EuroHockey Nations Trophy | Lisbon, Portugal | 2 | Ukraine (33) Portugal (26) |
| 9–15 September 2007 | 2007 EuroHockey Challenge I | Kazan, Russia | 4 | Sweden (40) Azerbaijan (44) Croatia (48) Denmark (51) |
| 9–15 September 2007 | 2007 EuroHockey Challenge II | Predanovci, Slovenia | 1 | Slovenia (50) |
| Total | Total | Total | 7 | |

## Results

All times are local (UTC+2).

### Preliminary round
#### Pool A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Azerbaijan | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 4 | Semi-finals |
| 2 | Portugal | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 4 | Semi-finals |
| 3 | Denmark | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 10 | −5 | 0 | Pool C |
* 25 July 2009
| Portugal | 5–3 | Denmark |
* 26 July 2009
| Azerbaijan | 0–0 | Portugal |
* 28 July 2009
| Denmark | 2–5 | Azerbaijan |

#### Pool B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Ukraine | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | +11 | 9 | Semi-finals |
| 2 | Sweden | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 3 | +9 | 6 | Semi-finals |
| 3 | Croatia (H) | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 9 | −6 | 1 | Pool C |
| 4 | Slovenia | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 16 | −14 | 1 | Pool C |
* 25 July 2009
| Ukraine | 2–0 | Sweden |
* 25 July 2009
| Croatia | 2–2 | Slovenia |
* 26 July 2009
| Sweden | 8–0 | Slovenia |
* 26 July 2009
| Croatia | 0–3 | Ukraine |
* 28 July 2009
| Ukraine | 6–0 | Slovenia |
* 28 July 2009
| Sweden | 4–1 | Croatia |

### Fifth to seventh place classification
#### Pool C

The points obtained in the preliminary round against the other team are taken over.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 5 | Croatia (H) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 6 | +1 | 4 |
| 6 | Slovenia | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 4 |
| 7 | Denmark | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 9 | −2 | 0 |
* 30 July 2009
| Denmark | 3–4 | Slovenia |
* 31 July 2009
| Denmark | 4–5 | Croatia |

### First to fourth place classification

| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final |
| 30 July | 30 July |
| Azerbaijan | 4 (3) |
| Azerbaijan | 4 (3) | 30 July | 30 July |
| Sweden (p.s.o.) | 4 (4) | 30 July | 30 July |
| Sweden (p.s.o.) | 4 (4) | Sweden | 0 |
| 30 July | 30 July | | Sweden | 0 |
| 30 July | 30 July | Ukraine | 3 |
| Portugal | 1 | Ukraine | 3 |
| Ukraine | 7 | | |
| Ukraine | 7 | Third place | Third place |
| | | 30 July | 30 July |
| | | Azerbaijan | 1 |
| | | Portugal | 2 |

#### Semi-finals

* 30 July 2009
| Azerbaijan | 4–4 (a.e.t.) | Sweden |
| Penalties |||
| | 3–4 | |
* 30 July 2009
| Portugal | 1–7 | Ukraine |

#### Third place game

* 31 July 2009
| Azerbaijan | 1–2 | Portugal |

#### Final

* 31 July 2009
| Sweden | 0–3 | Ukraine |

## Final standings

| Rank | Team |
| | Ukraine |
| | Sweden |
| | Portugal |
| 4 | Azerbaijan |
| 5 | Croatia |
| 6 | Slovenia |
| 7 | Denmark |
Promoted to the EuroHockey Championship II