The defending European champions, Team France, will play host to Serbia in the biggest game the French have played since the European title game against Austria, Saturday, November 9 at Villeneuve d’Ascq, in the final game of the IFAF 2020 European Championship Group A qualification tournament.
This is the first time these two teams have faced each other. France won the 2018 European Championships, defeating Austria 28-14 in the final.
France, coached by Jean-Philippe Dinglor, plays in Division A along with the Czech Republic and Serbia.
France defeated Team Czech Republic in early October 28-3 while Team Serbia handed the Czechs a 16-0 loss two weeks ago. to set up this showdown.
Serbia has never come this close to the top teams in Europe. The Serbs are ranked as the #10 team in Europe while France is the number one team.
The French offense is powered by their running game with running backs Jason Bofunda and Stephen Yepmo. Against the Czechs, Bofunda had five carries for 142 yards while Yepmo rushed for 57 yards and a touchdown. France racked up 229 yards rushing alone in that game while conceding a total of 132 yards of offense to Team Czech Republic.
A French win would advance them to the final four teams in Europe, joining Sweden, Finland and Italy.
Serbia, under head coach Doug Adkins, blanked the Czechs with quarterback David Hanomihl-Lukic leading a balanced offense. He has a group of solid receivers including Stefan Djuric who caught a touchdown pass against the Czechs, and Filip Nedeljkovic. Defensive back Goran Zec, who plays for the number three club team in Europe and German finalists, the Schwabisch Hall Unicorns, anchors a tough secondary. Zec had a pick six against Team Czech Republic.
Serbia’s game against the Czechs was their first since 2017.