Tenth seed Czechia pulled of a major shock in the 2024/25 IFAF European Championships on Sunday, winning 14-7 away over seventh seed France.
Czechia are relative newcomers on the international scene compared to their hosts who won the continental title in 2018, captured the silver medal in 2010, bronze four years later and finished fourth overall for a fourth time in tournament history in 2021.
The decisive play came in the fourth quarter when France quarterback Leo Cremades was intercepted by Ondřej Kyloušek, who raced 35 yards down the left sideline to the endzone and a 14-7 lead. The Czech defense held firm and denied France on the hosts’ final drive to spark wild scenes of celebration among the visitors.
The signs that Czechia could pose a threat in Group B had come a week earlier when they pushed Finland all the way in a hard-fought 28-6 home loss. France head coach Jean-Philippe Dinglor had believed his team was stronger than its seventh-place overall rank based on last year’s tournament and was eager to stake a claim for a place in the final four.
Now the group will be decided next weekend when Finland hosts France on October 26 in Vantaa with a win enough for the Finns to advance to the final four, which would mean Czechia has an opportunity to contest fifth place overall next year. A French recovery and a win in Finland would require points differential to separate the three nations.
Following a scoreless first half, at the end of the third quarter France gambled on fourth and nine at the Czechia 21-yard mark and came up with the game’s opening touchdown. Cremades found Florian Laros through the air to delight the 3,500 spectators at Villeneuve d’Ascq. in Lille and the hosts led 7-0.
The Czech offense responded as Jakub Březina moved the ball on the ground, Jakub Woleský gained momentum in the passing attack and Adam Žouželka moved the ball to within striking distance of the end zone. Březina finished off the successful drive with a touchdown before Amos Feranec tied the game with the extra point.
Following Kyloušek’s game-changing pick-six, France rallied and came within nine yards of the Czechia end zone, but Cremadese’s pass was intercepted by defensive end Jakub Smutný. One last desperate French push to tie the contest ended when Jakub Smutný produced two sacks to seal a famous victory.