The United States are the gold standard. There’s no denying it. The US men’s national flag football team are the reigning World, Continental and World Games champions.

The question is: can anyone dislodge them from their perch, and will a surprise come as early as the group stages at the 2024 IFAF World Championships in Lahti?

The impressive medal collection of USA quarterback Darrell ‘Housh’ Doucette includes gold mined in Israel in 2021 the last time the world’s best came together in one competition; Birmingham, Alabama, when an inaugural World Games title was won; and again on home soil in Charlotte, North Carolina, in claiming the continental crown. Housh leads a cast of familiar faces and a few squad newcomers to Finland, where the initial challenge comes from Europe and the Americas in Group A.

Spain’s men hold 17^th place in the IFAF Flag Football World Rankings and finished tenth on the world stage in Israel three years ago. They also came up against the United States in the group stages back then, losing 54-28, while beating India and Chile and losing to France. Spain defeated Japan in the placement round but were unable to tame free-scoring Israel in the ninth-place game and lost 59-19.

If Brazil, who are ranked one spot below Spain, are to upset the reigning champs, they will have to banish the memory of a 56-12 loss to the Americans last year in the continental championships.

Brazil finished 17^th among 21 nations at the 2021 IFAF Flag Football World Championships. A tough group stage saw them lose to eventual semifinalists Italy and European powerhouse Denmark on the way to an 0-4 record. Brazil then blasted 62 unanswered points past India and beat Finland 33-27 to end the event on a high note.

The top two teams will advance from each of the men’s groups to the Round of 16 knockout stages. If the five-time champion United States live up to their favorites tag, the battle to join them will be a close one between Spain and Brazil, with relatively unknown quantity Serbia also in the mix. Having not participated in either the last world championships or European continental tournament, the Serbs arrive in Finland unranked, but with an opportunity to make their mark on the world stage.