LIVESTREAM World Junior Championship Bronze Medal Game: Team USA vs Team Austria, June 30, 20:00 CET (8 pm, 2 pm EDT)
The United States and Austria will battle for the bronze medal at the IFAF U20 World Junior Championships at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton on Sunday, June 30, kickoff 12pm MT.
Austria almost upset defending champions Canada in the semifinals, leading at halftime before falling short by a single score, losing 27-20, while USA were surprised 41-20 by Japan.
All the action streams live on IFAF.TV as two-time champion USA aims to repeat its third placed finish from 2018 and Austria looks to medal for the first time having finished fourth in 2012 and 2014.
Austria have been crowned European Champions six successive times, winning their latest continental title with a 42-24 victory over Sweden as quarterback Michael Szabo and wide receiver Nils Keimel dominated on offense. The pair have enjoyed similar success in Edmonton with Szabo currently the tournament’s leading passer with 27 of 50 pass attempts completed for 471 yards and 2 touchdowns. Keimel leads all receivers in catches and yardage with 12 grabs for 279 yards and a pair of scores.
“We’ve got it in our heads that if we play like we did against Canada, we have a good chance to win this game,” said Szabo.
Watch live. Team USA vs Team Austria, June 30, 20:00 CET (8 pm, 2 pm EDT)
Roman Floredo will depart as the Austrian head coach after the game and is determined to add to the three European Championships won under his leadership.
“Now the only thing we are focused on is the bronze medal,” he said. “As a player I lost all my last games, so I want to change that as a coach. The U.S. team will be hard to beat but we will be prepared. We want to compete at the highest level.
“In 2012 in Texas the US blew us away, but now, as a European team, we have held Canada until the last quarter and we are a contender for a medal.”
The two nations have met twice before at the junior level, the United States winning both times by 70-7 in 2012 and 65-14 in 2016.
Two-time champions the United States dominated the inaugural IFAF World Junior Championships in 2009 and having finished as runners up in 2012, reclaimed the crown in 2014. A silver medal followed in 2016 then a bronze in the last tournament in 2018.
“Winning comes from self-pride at this point and the players who came all the way up here have a chance to go home with a medal,” said USA head coach Mike Kelly. “It’s all going to depend on their grit their intestinal fortitude and I’m going to try to pull it out of them, believe me.”
Running back Jaedon Alston added:
“We just have to stay focused, and we have to leave here with a medal. It’s on the players. We’ve got to follow the game plan, play smart and play disciplined.”
Watch live. Team USA vs Team Austria, June 30, 20:00 CET (8 pm, 2 pm EDT)
