Finland 10 France 9 at the Myyrmäen jalkapallostadion, Vanaa
Finland, Italy and Germany all won at home to secure semifinal places at the 2024/25 IFAF European Championships and now wait to see if reigning champions Austria will join them.
Finland trailed 9-3 at home to France with only 38 seconds remaining before Tom Suoste burst one yard up the middle to score the game-tying touchdown. Anssi Ruohonen kicked the all-important extra point to secure a 10-9 victory for Finland.
Ruohonen had earned a slim second quarter lead for the hosts with a 38-yard field goal, but France replied immediately as Stéphane Fortes returned the resulting kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown. A holding penalty chalked off the French PAT, which would prove costly, though they led 6-3 at halftime.
Jordy Adjetey-Adjevi increased France’s lead to 9-3 with a 42-yard field goal midway through the fourth quarter before the heroic decisive drive earned Finland a semifinals spot.
“We were already happy near the end of the game, as it looked like we would lose by a small enough margin to secure the group victory,” said Finland head coach Mikko Koikkalainen. “However, the players decided to end their season with a win. What made this especially significant was that our starting quarterback had been injured in the Czech game, and few believed our backup quarterback could lead the team to victory. He played a flawless game.”
Group B Finland 2-0 Czechia 1-1 France 0-2
October 13 Czechia 6 Finland 28 October 20 France 7 Czechia 14 October 26 Finland 10 France 9Photo Jari Turunen
