IFAF World Flag 2026 Women’s Group B: United States, Spain, Australia, Nigeria
Defending world champion the United States is paired with European contender Spain and two continental champions in Oceania winner Australia and conqueror of the inaugural IFAF Africa Flag tournament Nigeria.
This is a group of unfamiliarity with Nigeria being the first African women’s team to compete on the world stage and they will face each opponent for the first time. Spain versus Australia is also a new fixture.
USA breezed past Australia 48-6 at the IFAF world championships in Finland two years ago, while the winners of the past three titles will take on Spain for a third straight tournament. USA beat them in the quarterfinals in 2024 and in the group stages in 2021.
“We’re still focused but to already know that USA is going to be at the Olympics, it means everything for me and my teammates,” says United States receiver Ashlea Klam. “We’re going to earn our spot and are going for the gold medal.”
A relative newcomer to the world championships, Australia debuted in Finland two years ago having been silver medalists at the 2023 Asia-Oceania continental championships. Spain was crowned European champion in 2019, took silver in 2023 and won bronze last year.
The Basics:
Having had to settle for three successive silver medal finishes in 2010, 2012 and 2014 the United States got over the hump in 2018 with victory over host Panama to land a first world title and have since beaten Mexico twice in the championship game to retain the crown. The reigning world champions were knocked off the top of the IFAF World Rankings for the first time following defeats to archrival Mexico in the final of The World Games and the semifinals of the 2025 Americas continental championships.
Crowned European champions in 2019, Spain finished as continental runners up in 2023 and were third in last year’s tournament. They claimed a sixth-place finish at the IFAF world championships in Finland in 2024 but did not participate at The World Games a year later.
Australia is the reigning Oceania continental champion and finished as runner up to China in the Asia-Oceania final las year. In 2024 in Finland, they arrived having won the silver medal at the 2023 IFAF Continental Championships in Malaysia and finished 16th overall.
Nigeria lifted IFAF Africa Flag the trophy with a 26-12 victory over Morocco in 2025 and ranked 29th in the world appear at an IFAF world championship for the first time.
