A team capable of producing a shock in the knockout rounds could emerge from Group E where three continents are represented.

A four-time silver medalist in Europe, last year in the Euros Italy went 3-1 in the group stages but were knocked out by eventual champions Germany.

Italy had posed the biggest threat to the United States’ dominance at The World Games in Alabama in 2022, topping their group, beating Austria, Mexico and Germany. Following a quarterfinal win over France, the Azzurri saw off the challenge of Mexico in the semifinals. The final against USA was a close one, ending in a ten-point defeat with a silver medal as a credible consolation.

Italy won world championships bronze in 2010 and 2014, and last time out finished fourth. A single point denied Italy a shot at the world crown they lost 36-35 to Mexico in the semifinals.

Canada will draw its team predominantly from the province of Saskatchewan since the North Americans currently select the winner of the previous year’s club team national championships as their representatives. In Ireland, it was Montreal that flew the flag.

Absent from the 2021 world championships, Canada claimed the bronze medal at the Americas continentals and arrives in Finland with hopes pinned on an experienced quarterback-receiver pairing.

Mason Nyhus is new to flag football but was a nominee for the Hec Crighton Trophy as the outstanding player in Canadian university tackle football in 2022. He led the University of Saskatchewan to back-to-back Vanier Cup appearances while setting the program’s single season passing yards record with 3,829 yards in his senior year, finishing his career with more than 9,600 yards passing and 25 touchdowns.

Receiver Mitch Hillis returns having produced impressive performances at the world championship in Panama in 2018. Canada’s pedigree includes winning gold on home soil in 2008 and fourth place in 2010 and 2014.

Hosts Finland traveled to Ireland last summer short of a full 12-man roster due to players representing club teams back home during the ongoing Finnish Maple League tackle season. They still returned home with two wins and came very close to upsetting Italy, losing by only three points.

Head coach Tuomas Heikkinen is a Finnish American football Hall of Famer having won almost every honor in the game at domestic and international level as both a player and a coach. He is no flag football rookie having been exposed to the sport thirty years ago.

“I became familiar with flag football back in the early 90s,” he explains. “I was working as a teacher for a long time and at the Finnish federation, where I was trying to encourage flag football in schools. It was semi contact and a little bit of pushing and shoving was allowed at the line of scrimmage, so a different version of today’s game.

“Now we’re hosting the World Championships, so we want to be competitive.”

A third continent is represented in Group E as Singapore, tenth place finishers at last year’s Asia-Oceania tournament, complete the line up.

Singapore ended that continental competition on a high note with wins over the Philippines and India having been drawn into a tough group with two nations that went on to contest the bronze medal game, Japan and Australia.