Defending European champions Austria won a long-anticipated rematch with Germany, emerging as 30-9 victors in the IFAF Final Four semifinals at the Grotenburg Stadion in Krefeld.

The last time these traditional rivals met was in 2014 when Germany won 30-27 to claim the European title. Austria won gold two years ago with a 28-point shutout of Finland.

Max Sommer’s squad will now take on five-time champions Finland, 9-8 winners over Italy, in a repeat of the 2023 title game for the continental crown in Krefeld on Tuesday, kickoff 7pm CET, live on IFAF.TV. Germany will face Italy at 1pm CET.

Running backs Tobias Bonatti, MVP Sandro Platzgummer and Lukas Hanslwanter scored rushing touchdowns, while defensive back Christoph Nitzlander returned a fumble for a score and produced an interception in the end zone that ended any hope of a Germany comeback. Oskar Herz scored a 49-yard field goal in the win.

“We stuck to our plan for all four quarters and pushed through the tough situations,” said coach Sommer. “Everything we talked about during our week of preparation in Lindabrunn was something we had to rely on today and that’s what brought us the victory. I don’t know if I’ve ever been prouder of a team than I am today. To be leading by such a margin in the final quarter and even being able to enjoy the moment - it feels surreal.”

Defenses and eight punts dominated the first half before Austria scored a late second quarter touchdown to take a 9-2 lead into halftime.

Austria’s first possession saw them pinned at their own two-yard line after Florian Finke managed to fire off an impressive punt despite a low snap after Germany’s offense had been stopped to open the game. Then on Austria’s third penalty in a row, quarterback Alexander Reischl was called for intentional grounding while in the grasp of linebacker Marius Kensy resulting in a safety and a 2-0 lead for the hosts.

Neither offense managed to click and even after recovering a fumbled punt return, Germany had the ball in the end zone, but the catch by Harlan Kwofie was called back for offensive pass interference.

Austria’s best starting field position, courtesy of a penalty, produced the half’s only back-to-back first downs as Platzgummer reeled off a 22-yard run and then Hanslwanter’s run moved the chains. A key tackle for a loss on third down by Luis Bach meant Austria was held to a field goal and Herz impressively split the uprights from 49 yards for a 3-2 lead.

Austria put together the half’s best drive with a 29-yard pass to Platzgummer the catalyst for a series of gradual gains that along with penalties took the ball to the two-yard mark. With 20 seconds remaining, Bonatti burst into the end zone for a 9-2 lead. Austria elected to go for a two-point pass attempt, but Germany’s Nick Wenzelburger batted the ball down.

Germany’s first possession after the restart ended in disaster as punter Finke was unable to handle a high snap and Nitzlander scooped up the ball to run it in unopposed for a touchdown and a 16-2 Austrian lead.

A Lars Heidrich to Kwofie pass and extra point from Finke reduced the deficit to seven points but Austria replied immediately. With the first play of the fourth quarter, Platzgummer took a handoff near midfield, broke tackles at the line of scrimmage, cut to the right and raced 39 yards for Austria’s second rushing touchdown and a 23-9 advantage.

Hanslwanter put the result beyond doubt with a short scoring run with little more than two minutes remaining.

“We weren’t able to get the ball to our strong wide receivers, and the Austrians were very well prepared for our running game,” said Germany head coach Christian Rothe. “In the end, our defense kept us in the game for a long time. We couldn’t capitalize on our opportunities on offense.

“We expected a close game, and two turnovers are just too many. On top of that, we had individual mistakes across all parts of the team. There’s still a lot of work ahead of us. I hope the guys can process the loss quickly and shift their focus to Italy.”