Austria retained the IFAF European Championships title with a convincing 27-0 victory over Finland in the 2024/25 Final Four tournament at the Grotenburg Stadion in Krefeld

The margin of victory was a point less than the matchup between Europe’s best two national teams two years earlier, but Austria again dominated on both sides of the ball, scoring two unanswered touchdowns in each half.

Early touchdown grabs by receivers Yannick Mayr and Philipp Haun set the tone then tight end Florian Bierbaumer and wideout Fabian Eder stretched the game beyond Finland’s grasp. Quarterback Alexander Reischl threw three of his team’s scores and was named the overall MVP of the IFAF Final Four tournament.

Earlier on Tuesday, Italy took the bronze medal with a 17-14 win over Germany.

Reischl hit Mayr with a touchdown pass as Austria came out of the blocks firing on all cylinders and Finland almost replied with quarterback Anbro Urjansson targeting Luukas Eerola downfield, but the receiver was unable to hold on to the ball.

On the next Austria possession, Sandro Platzgummer’s punt return took the ball to Finland’s 31-yard mark and Reischl found Haun who strolled into the end zone for a 14-point lead after extra point.

Finland was unable to turn first down gains by Joel Sarkela and Oskari Suoniemi into points and both defenses proved impenetrable for the remainder of the first half. Oskar Kerz pushed a field goal wide right, but Austria crucially led 14-0 at halftime.

When Finland faltered and turned the ball over on downs, Austria struck and put the game beyond reach. Reischl threw an immediate pass to Bierbaumer down the right sideline behind the secondary for a 57-yard touchdown and a 21-0 advantage,

In the fourth quarter, Eder escaped tackles after the catch to move the ball to within striking distance of the red zone. Nico Hrouda had taken over under center and tossed a touchdown pass to Eder for the game’s final score.

Italy’s bronze medal success came as dramatic battle ended with a missed field goal by the hosts with the possibility of overtime looming.

Germany scored through a Heiko Bals rushing touchdown and a pass from Lars Heidrich to Niklas Schumm, but quarterback Luke 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.

Photo: David Bitzan / AFBOE