The scene is set for Saturday’s semifinals and placement games at the IFAF European Youth Flag Football Championships presented by Raiffeisen Club Tirol.
The full schedule and scores are available at https://www.flagyouthec.at/ with live streams and replays of games on IFAF.TV.
In the U17 Boys tournament, Israel continues its quest for a third straight championship in a final four match up with Czechia (09:15 AM, Field 1), while Spain takes on Finland (09:15 AM, Field 4) at the Sportanlage Wiesengasse in the Tyrolean capital.
Unbeaten Israel topped Group A with four wins, seeing off the challenge of Finland and hosts Austria in Friday’s games. The Finns finished second having won a three-way tiebreaker over Austria and Germany, who also posted 2-2 records.
In Group B, Spain emerged with five straight wins, though they were pushed all the way by second place finishers Czechia (4-1) in a 48-42 win that sealed top spot.
“We had our toughest game against Austria, a great team and the hosts of a great tournament, and it came down to the final play of the game,” said Israel coach Gideon Reiz. “We’re looking forward to the playoffs.”
Results and Standings: https://www.flagyouthec.at/schedules-and-tables/u17-boys
Finland and Czechia are also through to the semifinals in the U17 Girls tournament. Italy (3-0) will be Finland’s (2-1) opponents (10:30 AM, Field 4) having finished atop Group A with a perfect record, their third win coming on Friday against Spain. Czechia secured Group B with a 3-0 mark by beating Finland, and will take on Germany (10:30 AM, Field 3) whose 34-13 win over France on Friday earned them a final four berth and a 2-1 record .
“We are super happy to be here and get to the semifinals,” said Italy coach Davide Rossi. “Forza Italia!”
Results and Standings: https://www.flagyouthec.at/schedules-and-tables/u17-girls
In the U15 Mixed tournament, Friday began with last year’s silver medalist Great Britain topping Group A on points differential over Italy with both nations having won all three of their games on the opening day. The Brits lost both their final games, including Italy whose 5-0 record saw then top the group and earn a semifinal match up with Germany (08:00 AM, Field 4). The Germans (4-1) lost only once to 5-0 Slovakia who will meet Spain in the other semifinal (08:00 AM, Field 3).
“Today was quite an emotional day in the match against Germany,” said Slovakia offensive coordinator Matej Klobušovský. “We knew it would be a hard match, but we enjoyed it. The kids were amazing during all the games, and this team has such a perfect vibe together.”
Results and Standings: https://www.flagyouthec.at/schedules-and-tables/u15-mixed
Photo: Roman Fleishhackl
