The United States Men’s and Women’s teams captured the gold medals at the 2018 IFAF Flag Football World Championship held at at Maracana Stadium in Panama City, Panama.
The Team USA men’s team defeated Austria 19-13 in the gold medal final, Sunday, August 12, to three peat as IFAF Flag Football World Champions.
The United States went undefeated (5-0) in the group stage and then downed Team Israel in the quarterfinals and Denmark in the semifinal. Austria entered the playoffs with a 3-2 record but took care of Team Canada in the quarterfinal and then avenged an earlier defeat by beating Mexico in the semifinals.
The Americans had beaten Austria in the Group Stage 38-24 but Team Austria, buoyed by their upset playoff wins, pushed Team USA to the limit. MVP of the championship final was Greg Meek from the United States.
On the women’s side, Team USA surprised the defending world champions from Panama, beating them 27-12 in the gold medal final in a game played in front of 2,000 wildly cheering hometown fans.
The United States entered the playoffs with a 4-0 record while Panama were also undefeated (5-0). The Americans then defeated Japan in the quarterfinals and Team Canada in the semifinals. Panama got past Team Denmark in their quarterfinal matchup and then turned back Mexico in the semis.
MVP of the women’s gold medal game was Vanita Krouch of Team USA