Austria successfully defended the IFAF Europe U19 Championships with a 42-24 win over Sweden this past weekend, while five other games played over the course of the weekend decided the final placings for the 2023 tournament.
Austria’s triumph earned a sixth successive continental crown and Finland claimed the bronze medal, beating Denmark 28-22 at home at the Myyrmäki Stadium in Vantaa. It was the first time the winners of the first two tournaments played in 1992 and 1994 have medaled since finishing third in 1998.
Germany was the last nation to win a European title before Austria’s dominance, back in 2008, and the Germans took fifth place with a 41-12 win at home over Italy.
There were two road wins during the closing weekend of the 2023 competition, the first of which came at the Butts Arena in Coventry where France triumphed 21-7 over Great Britain to finish seventh overall. The other away win came in Belgium where visitors Switzerland edged their hosts 19-14 in the battle for eleventh place. Ninth place finishers were the Czech Republic, who turned away the challenge from Spain by a score of 34-21.