2018 European Championship of American football| Tournament details |
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| Host nation |  Finland |
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| Dates | 29 July – 4 August 2018 |
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| No. of nations | 6 |
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| Final positions |
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Champions  |  France |
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Runner-up  |  Austria |
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Third-place  | Finland |
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| Tournament statistics |
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| Attendance | 10,001 (Avg. ~1,111 per game) |
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| MVP of the tournament |  QB Paul Durand |
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| ← 2014 2021 → |
The 2018 European Championship was the 14th European Championship in American football. The final tournament was played in Vantaa, Finland from 29 July to 4 August 2018.
Qualification
The Qualification for the European Championship 2018 was held in three stages. In the first round, twelve teams played a single playoff round. The six winners and two further teams played the second round, in two tournaments of four teams. Another two teams entered the qualification in the third round in playoff games against the two tournament winners of the second round. Four teams were already qualified for the European Championship 2018. Altogether an all-time record number of twenty teams competed to win the European title in 2018. One team, Germany, did not play a single game due to the national federation of American Football in Germany having an unresolved dispute with IFAF.
First round
The first round was played from August to October 2015. Six of the twelve teams took part in one of the tournaments of the last championship. These were the seeded teams playing against an unseeded team. The seeded teams were the hosts of their playoff game. Israel defeating Spain was the only unseeded team to make it to the next round.
Second round
The second round tournaments were played in 2016. As runner-up and third in the B Group Tournament in 2013, Italy and Great Britain earned a spot as the host nation of one of the tournaments.
Tournament in Italy
Tournament in Great Britain
Third round
Italy and Great Britain, as the winners of the tournaments in Italy and Great Britain, were respectively assigned to play against Sweden and Denmark (fifth and sixth place at the 2014 EFAF Championship), with the winners advancing to the 2018 tournament.
In June 2017, Italy was announced to have qualified for the final tournament as only one of the four teams without any match played. Finland, who was already qualified, did not appear on the schedule. No reasons were given.
In March 2018, IFAF New York announced to have Sweden, Denmark, and Great Britain advancing to the final tournament. Now reigning Champion Germany and Italy were not on the list. Again, no reasons were given. On 28 March, the website American Football International reported that the reason for Germany not joining was due to the teams in the German Football League voting not to change the league schedule to accommodate the European Championships.
Teams
Venue
All games were played at Myyrmäen jalkapallostadion in Vantaa, Finland
Group stages
Group A
Standings
| Team
|
W
|
L
|
Pct
|
PF
|
PA
|
PD
|
| Austria |
2 |
0 |
1.000 |
81 |
16 |
+63
|
 Sweden |
1 |
1 |
0.500 |
33 |
61 |
−28
|
 Denmark |
0 |
2 |
0.000 |
35 |
70 |
−35
|
Schedule
at Myyrmäen jalkapallostadion, Vantaa
- Date: 29 July 2018
- Game time: 16:00 EEST
- Game attendance: 502
- Referee: Øyvind Løken
- Box score
at Myyrmäen jalkapallostadion, Vantaa
- Date: 31 July 2018
- Game time: 16:00 EEST
- Game attendance: 347
- Referee: Bård Beylich
- Box score
at Myyrmäen jalkapallostadion, Vantaa
- Date: 2 August 2018
- Game time: 16:00 EEST
- Game attendance: 512
- Referee: Øyvind Løken
- Box score
Group B
Standings
Schedule
at Myyrmäen jalkapallostadion, Vantaa
- Date: 29 July 2018
- Game time: 20:00 EEST
- Game attendance: 1650
- Referee: Bård Beylich
- Box score
at Myyrmäen jalkapallostadion, Vantaa
- Date: 31 July 2018
- Game time: 20:00 EEST
- Game attendance: 428
- Referee: Øyvind Løken
- Box score
at Myyrmäen jalkapallostadion, Vantaa
- Date: 2 August 2018
- Game time: 20:00 EEST
- Game attendance: 2518
- Referee: Bård Beylich
- Box score
Finals
5th place game
at Myyrmäen jalkapallostadion, Vantaa
- Date: 4 August 2018
- Game time: 11:00 EEST
- Game weather: Sunny, +25°C
- Game attendance: 303
- Referee: Veikko Lamminsalo
- TV: YLE Areena
- Box score
| Game information
|
|
First quarter
- GB – Dan Conroy 4-yard run (Ian Jacquet kick), 0:33. Great Britain 7–0.
Second quarter
- GB – Dan Conroy 67-yard pass from Patrick Daley (Ian Jacquet kick), 5:16. Great Britain 14–0.
Third quarter
- GB – Alex Haldane 20-yard fumble return (Kick failed), 8:34. Great Britain 20-0.
- DEN – Lasse Lykke 2-yard pass from Kasper Bolmgren (Thomas Thellufsen pass from Lasse Hansen), 2:31. Great Britain 20-8.
- GB – Josh Amis 100-yard kick-off return (Kick failed), 2:16 Great Britain 26-8
Fourth quarter
- DEN – Aske Klixbüll 8-yard pass from Kasper Bolmgren (Thomas Ashworth pass from Lasse Hansen), 8:13. Great Britain 26-16.
- GB – Ian Jacquet 20-yard pass from Patrick Daley (Ian Jacquet kick), 3:10. Great Britain 33-16
|
Top passers
- GB – Patrick Daley – 15/24, 257 yards, 2 TD, INT
- DEN – Kasper Bolmgren – 18/37, 210 yards, 2 TD, 4 INT
Top rushers
- GB – Omodeji Alli – 7 rushes, 43 yards
- DEN – Michel Konate – 13 rushes, 30 yards
Top receivers
- GB – Dan Conroy – 2 receptions, 85 yards, 1 TD
- DEN – Mads Christiansen – 3 receptions, 41 yards
|
|
Bronze medal game
at Myyrmäen jalkapallostadion, Vantaa
- Date: 4 August 2018
- Game time: 15:00 EEST
- Game weather: Cloudy, +24°C
- Game attendance: 1,984
- Referee:
Bård Beylich - TV: YLE Areena
- Box score
| Game information
|
|
First quarter
- FIN – Karri Pajarinen 14-yard run (Joni-Petteri Malka kick), 9:33. Finland 7-0.
Second quarter
- FIN – Marcus Siiskonen 34-yard pass from Miro Kadmiry (Joni-Petteri Malka kick), 9:01. Finland 14-0.
- SWE – Philip Juhlin 8-yard run (Kick failed), 0:58. Finland 14-6.
Third quarter
- FIN – Veikka Lehtonen 4-yard run (Joni-Petteri Malka kick), 9:32. Finland 21-6.
- SWE – Jacob Dahre 7-yard pass from Philip Juhlin (Jacob Dahre pass from Philip Juhlin), 6:36. Finland 21-14
- SWE – Emil Knutsson 18-yard pass from Philip Juhlin (Jacob Dahre kick), 0:44. Tied 21-21.
Fourth quarter
- FIN – Karri Pajarinen 4-yard run (Joni-Petteri Malka kick), 8:08. Finland 28-21.
- FIN – Veikka Lehtonen 6-yard run (Joni-Petteri Malka kick), 1:56. Finland 35-21.
|
Top passers
- SWE – Philip Juhlin – 21/41, 310 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT
- FIN – Miro Kadmiry – 13/18, 159 yards, TD
Top rushers
- SWE – Philip Juhlin – 13 rushes, 80 yards, TD
- FIN – Karri Pajarinen – 12 rushes, 82 yards, 2 TD
Top receivers
- SWE – Jacob Dahre – 10 receptions, 122 yards, TD
- FIN – Marcus Siiskonen – 2 receptions, 41 yards, TD
|
|
Final
at Myyrmäen jalkapallostadion, Vantaa
- Date: 4 August 2018
- Game time: 18:00 EEST
- Game weather: Cloudy, +24°C
- Game attendance: 1,757
- Referee: Øyvind Løken
- TV: YLE Areena
- Box score
| Game information
|
|
First quarter
- FRA – Andrew James 34-yard pass from Paul Durand (Jefferson Alexandre kick), 2:42. France 7-0. Drive: 7 plays, 70 yards, 3:18
Second quarter
- AUT – Sandro Platzgummer 41-yard run (Thomas Pichlmann kick), 10:15. Tied 7-7. Drive: 7 plays, 79 yards, 4:23
- AUT – Berhard Seikovits 12-yard pass from Alexander Thury (Thomas Pichlmann kick), 2:51. Austria 14-7. Drive: 4 plays, 36 yards, 1:30
Third quarter
- FRA – Jason Aguemon 49-yard run (Jefferson Alexandre kick), 9:01. Tied 14-14. Drive: 6 plays, 81 yards, 2:53
- FRA – Jerome Valbon 1-yard pass from Paul Durand (Jefferson Alexandre kick), 3:38. France 21-14. Drive: 8 plays, 63 yards, 3:50
Fourth quarter
- FRA – Jefferson Alexandre 20-yard pass from Paul Durand (Jefferson Alexandre kick), 5:25. France 28-14. Drive: 10 plays, 75 yards, 4:49
|
Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
|
|
See also
References
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 13 August 2016. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- American Football International. 28 March 2018, retrieved on 1 August 2018. http://www.americanfootballinternational.com/german-american-football-clubs-will-not-change-schedule-to-accommodate-ifaf-european-championships/
External links
Categories:
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Czech Republic
Netherlands
Italy
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