Italy and Canada will meet in an international friendly this Sunday, November 9, at the Velodromo Vigorelli in Milan, kickoff 3pm CET.

The game will be streamed live at FIDAF: https://www.youtube.com/@fidaf-tv/streams

Canada returns to Europe having beaten the hosts 56-0 back in April, but this will be a very different Italian team that lines up with head coach Brain Michitti having selected an experimental roster last time around. Italy is fresh off an IFAF European Championships Final Four bronze medal victory over Germany last month.

That win counts in the standings as part of a three-team tournament that also sees Canada travel to Bochum to face Germany on Sunday, November 16, kickoff 4pm CET.

Having beaten Germany in October, a win over Canada would guarantee first place overall for Italy, otherwise the Canada-Germany match will be the decider.

Italy quarterback Luke Zahradka led his nation to the gold medal at the 2025 IFAF Euro Flag continental championships this summer.

Italy’s bronze medal tackle success in the IFAF Final Four came as dramatic battle ended with a missed field goal by Germany with the possibility of overtime looming. Zahradka found Carlo Tassan for two scoring strikes and a run by Ryan Minniti set up a field goal by Matteo Felli, which proved the difference between the sides.

Italy has a rich history in international competition and won the first-ever European Championship of American football in 1983 and was home the first two biannual tournaments. Italy proudly hosted the inaugural IFAF World Championship in Palermo in 1999, finishing in fourth place. Italy has been crowned European champion on three occasions, most recently in 2021, and has won three silver and three bronze continental medals.

Canada’s roster features quarterback Michael O’Connor who threw for two touchdowns the last time the teams met, and he also leads his nation’s flag football challenge, guiding Canada to the bronze medal at the 2025 IFAF Americas continental championships. One of his receiving targets will by Rysen John, who spent time with the New York Giants and Chicago Bears and played in 17 games for the Calgary Stampeders of the CFL.

Canada claimed the silver medal at the 2011 IFAF World Championships in Vienna, beating Japan, France and Austria before losing to the United States in the final. While Canada’s junior national team boasts a prolific pedigree, having won a third successive IFAF World Championship in Edmonton last summer, this marks only the second time the men’s team has competed internationally since 2011.

The Canadian national team arrived in Milan on Tuesday before holding open training sessions at the Rozzano Calcio sports center. At the end of the training session, athletes and coaching staff received a visit from the Mayor Mattia Ferretti De Luca, and the Councilor for Sports, Public Works, and Youth Policies Marco Paolini, accompanied by students and teachers from the Istituto Superiore Italo Calvino di Rozzano.