LIVESTREAM World Junior Championship Gold Medal Game: Team Japan vs Team Canada, July 1, 01:00 CET (1 am, 7 pm June 30 EDT)
Japan looks to create another international American football upset against hosts Canada who seek to secure a threepeat by again defending the IFAF U20 World Junior Championships title at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton this Sunday, July 30.
Fresh off a stunning victory over the United States in the semifinals, Japan are already assured of their highest-ever finish in the sixth edition of this tournament but are aiming for the gold medal against a Canada team pushed all the way in their last game by Austria.
All the action streams live on IFAF.TV from 5pm with a pregame show and a flyover by a CH-146 Griffon helicopter from 408 Tactical Helicopter Squadron based at CFB Edmonton, piloted by Captain Lari Jackson, Captain Ben Kennedy, and Corporal Brandon Kolb.
World Junior Championship Gold Medal Game: Team Japan vs Team Canada, July 1, 01:00 CET (1 am, 7 pm June 30 EDT)
The battle for the IFAF U20 World Championship will also air on a delayed midweek broadcast across Canada on TSN and will be available among archived footage on IFAF.TV.
“I think we’ll match up well because I think we’re both very fast teams and while I don’t want to say we’re terrified of them we’re very aware of the threat they pose,” said Canada head coach Warren Craney of Sunday’s opponent.
“They are incredible. They look like the best team in the tournament to me. They are really talented, fast, and they have something they’ve never had in the past, which is the size on the offensive line.”
The two nations have met three times previously in the competition, Canada winning on each occasion. In the inaugural tournament at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2009 Canada edged Japan 38-35 in the semifinals and beat them again at the same stage in 2012 before winning the gold medal for the first time. Japan claimed bronze on both occasions and have not medaled since. When the sides last met in 2018, Canada won 28-22.
“The gold medal is our final goal,” said Japan head coach Makoto Ohashi, who was Japan’s defensive coordinator in 2018, having been the assistant head coach two years earlier. “We believe in our potential with our speed and quickness. We will not change our game plan. Canada are very organized and the team that wins will be the team that executes the best.”
Quarterback Nobuaki Kobayashi, who has passed for 236 yards and 3 touchdowns, added:
“Canada is a really good team, and the players are tall and big, but the Japanese team has a good heart and will be brave, humble and tough and that is the motto of this team.”
World Junior Championship Gold Medal Game: Team Japan vs Team Canada, July 1, 01:00 CET (1 am, 7 pm June 30 EDT)
