Flawless Belgium seal Final Four spot, alongside Czechia, Romania and Sweden in the 2024 CEV Women's European Golden League

After the 36 matches played throughout the last three weeks, only four teams are still in the hunt for the coveted trophy in the 2024 CEV Women's European Golden League. Belgium, Czechia, Romania and Sweden have secured their places in the Final Four, due to be played in Czechia, on 15 and 16 June.

Three of the sides which had already been on qualification places – Czechia, which were already through, due to their hosting status, Belgium and Romania – made it through, while the odd one out was Sweden, which delivered a flawless performance in the last Tournament to seal the fourth place and progress to the Final Four.

Sweden did not drop a set in Tournament 11, hosted in Bratislava, Slovakia, as they threw off with a 3:0 win over hosts Slovakia, without any issues. In the 25:19; 25:23; 25:18 win, Isabelle Haak scored 27 points, leading the line for the Scandinavian team, which had a must-win match against Slovenia in the last round.

There were no issues for Sweden in the last match of the league round, where they clinched another 3:0 win, 25:18; 25:20; 25:23, with Haak once again in control, with 18 points, to lift her side to a 4-2 record.

The odd team out was Ukraine, which started the competition with four wins in a row, but dropped their next two matches, and fell down the pecking order onto the fifth place, tied on points and wins with Sweden, but with a lower set ratio (1.444) than Sweden’s 1.500.

First, Ukraine conceded a 0:3 loss (20:25; 19:25; 22:25) against Czechia in Tarnow, Poland, which seriously hampered their chances. Needing at least two sets against Belgium in the final day of the competition, Ukraine could only muster one set in the 1:3 loss, clinching the second one, 28:26.

They lost the next one, 18:25, but fought until the end in the fourth one, where they eventually conceded a 23:25 loss, as Belgium celebrated their sixth win in a row, to secure the first place in the standings.

Previously, Belgium also won the derby against Czechia, 3:1, as they were the only team with a 100% winning record in the league round, followed by Czechia, which only lost the match against Belgium, finishing with five wins and a single loss.

Romania already created a path for themselves to clinch a place in the Final Four, which was enhanced even further in Tournament 10 in Gijon, Spain, with a 3:0 win (25:18; 25:22; 25:21) against Croatia, their fourth in the first five matches.

Ana Cristina Miron, who leads the scoring standings, with 116 points, and Rodica Buterez, who is second, with 116 points, shined for Romania, which lost against Spain, 1:3, but still had 12 points, clinching the third place.
With a single win and only two points secured, Austria finished on the last place in the standings, relegating to the Silver League, as their 3:2 win against Azerbaijan in Tournament 9 was not enough to avoid their fate.

In the semi-finals, scheduled on 15 June, Belgium will face Sweden, while Romania face hosts Czechia, in do-or-die battles for the trophy, with the winners facing off for the gold medal on the next day, 16 June.