Finland progressed to the final of the 2023 IFAF European Championships in men’s tackle football with a 33-14 victory over Scandinavian rivals Sweden in Vantaa on Saturday. Their opponents in the October Gold Medal Game will be decided on Sunday when Austria and Italy meet in the other semifinal in Innsbruck.
The Finns established what proved to be an unassailable 19-point halftime lead as Miro Kadmiry threw for three first half touchdowns, with one in each of the first two quarters to Johannes Jauhiainen and a third of 19 yards to Asko Mantymaki. Kadmiry ended the game with 12 passes completed for 185 yards and 3 touchdowns, while receiver Kimi Linnainmaa reeled in 5 passes for 75 yards.
Sweden got on the board through a 48-yard Alexander Kennedy Chaanhing run and reduced the deficit to five points early in the fourth quarter as Kasper Wedberg scored on a 14-yard run and Alvin Gustafsson added his second extra point of the day.
Sweden’s comeback was short-lived as Luukas Eerola returned the resulting kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown and Finland sealed victory with a 10-yard scoring rush from Micky Kyei. The Swedes will face the losers of the Austria-Italy clash for the bronze medal.
Great Britain and Denmark will contest fifth place in the European hierarchy after both enjoyed home wins on Saturday.
The GB Lions toughed out a scoreless four quarters with France as both teams came up short when knocking on the door of the end zone and both had kicks blocked at crucial times during regulation. A large and enthusiastic crowd braved the rainswept conditions at the Coventry Butts Arena to cheer the Lions to victory.
France had a golden opportunity to break the deadlock in the fourth quarter, but the Lions’ defense stuffed a run for a big loss and France were hurt by penalties that pushed them back from a promising third and goal situation, resulting in a blocked field goal.
With four minutes to play, Lions quarterback Josh Allsebrook ran for a first down, a fine Lewis Kirby grab ate up more yardage and when GB moved from punt formation into a fourth down offense, a hard count by Sam Bloomfield caused the visiting defense to jump and earned a first down. After two incomplete passes aimed towards the end zone, kicker Alex Lenkowski split the uprights from 50 yards but what would have been the game-winning three points were wiped off the board for an illegal formation. His resulting kick from further out was blocked.
An overtime period of equal possessions from the 25-yard line saw France score the first points of the game as Sullivan Silverio hit Aymeric Nicault with a touchdown pass, but the resulting extra point was blocked. Critically, a 15-yard penalty against France was tagged onto the Great Britain drive, moving them to a starting point 10 yards from the end zone. Game MVP Aaron Sekwalor went in untouched on the first play and that left Lenkowski to win the game 7-6 with the decisive point after.
“This is a gutsy win, it’s a team win that shows the character of this national team program,” said Great Britain head coach Jason Scott afterwards. “In times of high pressure, we’ve shown poise, which is the ability to perform under pressure.”
Denmark saw off the challenge of Serbia 13-7 at a packed Copenhagen Gentofte Stadion, holding on to a lead established in the first half by two field goals.
Serbia were within striking distance of the end zone on third and 13 with 26 seconds remaining in the second quarter, but ended the half without reward as Dejan Polovina’s field goal was blocked as time expired. They then moved quickly downfield in part thanks to a superb catch at midfield by Jovan Ikic from Milos Simatovic’s pass, but an interception ended the drive.
Denmark advanced steadily in reply as Andreas Brandsen ran up the middle and almost broke through the last line of defense, then Magrus Norgaard’s rush took the ball down to the two-yard mark. Quarterback Christoffer Carstens scored untouched as he tucked the ball away as the defense bit and followed a fake handoff.
Undeterred at being 13 points down, Serbia rallied and on fourth and goal, Simatovic lofted pass to tight end Aleksa Smilijic in the back of end zone and the extra point was tagged on to pull within six points of the hosts. Despite a brave attempt, a Hail Mary pass with only nine seconds to play fell just beyond the receivers and Denmark held out for the 13-7 win.
Turkey traveled to the MTU Stadium, Bishopstown Cork and claimed 15th place in the European standings with a 17-14 win over Ireland to delight a large raucous following of visiting supporters.
After Ireland turned the ball over on the opening kickoff, Turkey came out firing and after having had a touchdown on their first offensive play called back for pass interference, soon went ahead 7-0. That lead increased to 10-0 at halftime through a Melih Ozyurt field goal.
Late in the third quarter, Ireland got back into the game when a steady drive featuring a pair of receptions and a run set up first and goal, which culminated in Matthew O’Meara finding a receiver in the corner of the end zone and the hosts only trailed by four points.
Aytac Mercan effectively moved the ball on the ground for Turkey and he scampered to the end zone after a short toss from Yigit Suleyman Yabaneri and the visitors moved 17-7 ahead once Ozyurt tagged on the point after.
The Wolfhounds wouldn’t go down without a fight and an O’Meara touchdown cut the Turkey lead to 17-14 as 47 seconds remained on the clock, but the subsequent onside kick attempt was recovered to deny any late drama.
Sunday, August 6 (all times local) Czechia vs Switzerland, Masarykova, Ústí nad Labem, 16:00 Livestream Austria vs Italy, Tivoli Stadium, Innsbruck, 17:00 Livestream Israel vs Spain, Kraft Family Sports Campus, Jerusalem, 19:30 Livestream
