Winning a world championship is a monumental task. Winning gold as a player and then as a head coach is a rarity. Winning multiple crowns when orchestrating a nation’s fortunes both on and off the field: that is the domain of Jorge Cascudo.
Cascudo first got a taste for glory as quarterback of the United States men’s national team in 2010 having been recruited by current Great Britain women’s national team head coach Jack Reed, who at that time worked for USA Football. The Americans proceeded to win four of the next five IFAF Flag Football World Championships with Cascudo at the helm. Having transitioned to the sidelines, he led Panama to bronze in 2021 then with USA in 2024 secured his first goal medal as a head coach. He seeks a second crown in 2026.
Cascudo was already 38 years old when he won that first IFAF gold medal in 2010. Preparation for the tournament in Canada was a far cry from today’s meticulous planning which sees USA gather in Southern California to train monthly ahead of IFAF World Flag 2026 and routinely host a series of extremely competitive tryouts.
“We met everyone the day of the tournament, so there was no practice,” recalls Cascudo, who at the time had been playing 7-on-7 flag in his native Miami and was new to the 5-on-5 discipline. “Luckily, two of the guys that were selected with me were my players that I played with before, so at least we had chemistry. It was totally different from what it is now.”
That chemistry translated into a 35-19 championship game win over Denmark, who at the time were the undisputed kings of Europe. Two years later, there was to be no defending the title. A second straight gold medal proved elusive as Austria defiantly edged a high-scoring game by a single touchdown against a US team that had won every prior game.
“It was like a shootout,” he says. “It was no defense, but offensively we were scoring, they were scoring, we just couldn’t stop them. We didn’t have enough time to score to win the game at the end, but they were very talented, they were very focused.”
The loss was a wakeup call and prompted Cascudo to help revamp the recruitment process with USA Football to ensure a return to winning ways in Italy in 2014. The team managed itself, but as quarterback and de facto leader, Cascudo was in effect taking on the unofficial role of coach.
Mexico was duly beaten 40-14 as USA was crowned world champion for the second time and the Americans then retained the title. A second triumph against Denmark in 2016 and a revenge victory over Austria in 2018 immortalized Cascudo and the USA team of that era as four-time winners in the space of five tournaments.
Then it was time for a change. Cascudo hung up his cleats and graduated to the sidelines but switched national team allegiances. He guided the fortunes of Panama at the 2021 IFAF World Championships.
“There were so many emotions, just walking into the IFAF tournament in Israel,” he explains. “I’m used to walking in with a USA jersey and representing USA as a player. And now I’m wearing a Panama jacket and I’m not even a player, I’m a coach. So, it was extremely different, it was weird because I’m from USA, I support everything USA, but now I’m a coach for Panama.
“We went undefeated, we went all the way to the semifinals, which was the first time ever Panama has made it that far. And we had to face USA, which I was super excited about.
“But it was a different monster for them. They weren’t prepared for what USA had. So, we ended up losing, but then we beat Italy to win the bronze medal.”
For Cascudo, the experience had opened a door to his future.
“I was very happy that my coaching plan, game plan worked for them,” he explains. “They bought into the system, and I knew that it could work, as long as you have the right athletes and players for that type of system. I felt comfortable and confident that, that I can continue doing this as a coach, since I’m not playing anymore.”
Panama reluctantly gave Cascudo their blessing to fulfil his dream of coaching the United States men’s national team when the vacancy arose. His squad won at The World Games in 2022 and at the IFAF Americas a year later. In Finland in 2024, he added a world championship coaching gold to the quartet won as a player. USA topped Group A, beating Spain, Brazil and Serbia, then cruised past Czechia, Italy and Switzerland in the knockout stages. When Cascudo’s old rival Austria cropped up in the final, the Americans triumphed 53-21.
This summer in Düsseldorf Cascudo’s charges will not take their foot off the gas despite having already secured qualification for the LA28 Olympic Games as the host nation. The lure of gold remains strong.
“We have an automatic bid, which is great, but for us, I don’t like that,” admits the coach. “We have to earn it, so our mindset is we don’t have anything earned yet. We have to win the tournament in order to get the bid. We want to make sure that we win and continue winning championships and stay on top of flag football.”
History suggests that with Cascudo calling the shots, there are indeed more titles on the horizon for the United States.
Photo: USA Football
