# 2018 European Championship of American football

The 2018 European Championship was the 14th European Championship in American football. The final tournament was played in Vantaa, Finland from 29 July to 4 August 2018.

## Qualification

The Qualification for the European Championship 2018 was held in three stages. In the first round, twelve teams played a single playoff round. The six winners and two further teams played the second round, in two tournaments of four teams. Another two teams entered the qualification in the third round in playoff games against the two tournament winners of the second round. Four teams were already qualified for the European Championship 2018. Altogether an all-time record number of twenty teams competed to win the European title in 2018. One team, Germany, did not play a single game due to the national federation of American Football in Germany having an unresolved dispute with IFAF.

### First round

The first round was played from August to October 2015. Six of the twelve teams took part in one of the tournaments of the last championship. These were the seeded teams playing against an unseeded team. The seeded teams were the hosts of their playoff game. Israel defeating Spain was the only unseeded team to make it to the next round.
| Date | Kickoff | Away | Score | Home | Game site |
| 30 August | 12:00 p.m. CEST | Israel | 28–20 | Spain | Estadio Santo Domingo, Alcorcón |
| 26 September | 6:00 p.m. CEST | Slovakia | 00–21 | Switzerland | Stadion Rankhof, Basel |
| 10 October | 1:00 p.m. CEST | Norway | 00–20 | Russia | Tsarskoye Selo Stadium, Pushkin |
| 10 October | 2:00 p.m. CEST | Hungary | 00–56 | Serbia | Voždovac Stadium, Belgrade |
| 11 October | 2:00 p.m. CEST | Poland | 07–14 | Czech Republic | Letní stadion, Pardubice |
| 24 October | 6:00 p.m. CEST | Belgium | 03–17 | Netherlands | Mandemakers Stadion, Waalwijk |

### Second round

The second round tournaments were played in 2016. As runner-up and third in the B Group Tournament in 2013, Italy and Great Britain earned a spot as the host nation of one of the tournaments.

#### Tournament in Italy

* Italy
* Serbia
* Switzerland
* Israel
| Date | Kickoff | Away | Score | Home | Game site |
| Semifinals ||||||
| 2 September | 2:00 p.m. CEST | Israel | 10–40 | Italy | Stadio G. Teghil, Lignano Sabbiadoro |
| 2 September | 7:00 p.m. CEST | Switzerland | 00–17 | Serbia | Stadio G. Teghil, Lignano Sabbiadoro |
| Classification game ||||||
| 4 September | 3:00 p.m. CEST | Israel | 00–51 | Switzerland | Stadio G. Teghil, Lignano Sabbiadoro |
| Final ||||||
| 4 September | 7:00 p.m. CEST | Serbia | 14–17 | Italy | Stadio G. Teghil, Lignano Sabbiadoro |

#### Tournament in Great Britain

* Great Britain
* Czech Republic
* Netherlands
* Russia
| Date | Away | Score | Home | Game site |
| Semifinals ||||||
| 16 September | Russia | 03–30 | Great Britain | Sixways Stadium, Worcester |
| 16 September | Netherlands | 13–20 | Czech Republic | Sixways Stadium, Worcester |
| Classification game ||||||
| 18 September | Russia | 06–17 | Netherlands | Sixways Stadium, Worcester |
| Final ||||||
| 18 September | Czech Republic | 13–38 | Great Britain | Sixways Stadium, Worcester |

### Third round

Italy and Great Britain, as the winners of the tournaments in Italy and Great Britain, were respectively assigned to play against Sweden and Denmark (fifth and sixth place at the 2014 EFAF Championship), with the winners advancing to the 2018 tournament.
In June 2017, Italy was announced to have qualified for the final tournament as only one of the four teams without any match played. Finland, who was already qualified, did not appear on the schedule. No reasons were given.
In March 2018, IFAF New York announced to have Sweden, Denmark, and Great Britain advancing to the final tournament. Now reigning Champion Germany and Italy were not on the list. Again, no reasons were given. On 28 March, the website American Football International reported that the reason for Germany not joining was due to the teams in the German Football League voting not to change the league schedule to accommodate the European Championships.

## Teams

* Finland (2014 Fourth-placed, host)
* Austria (2014 Runner-up)
* France (2014 Third-placed)
* Sweden (Qualifier)
* Denmark (Qualifier)
* Great Britain (Qualifier)

## Venue

All games were played at Myyrmäen jalkapallostadion in Vantaa, Finland
* Vantaa
* Myyrmäen jalkapallostadion Capacity: 4,700

## Group stages
### Group A
#### Standings

| Team | W | L | Pct | PF | PA | PD |
| Austria | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | 81 | 16 | +63 |
| Sweden | 1 | 1 | 0.500 | 33 | 61 | −28 |
| Denmark | 0 | 2 | 0.000 | 35 | 70 | −35 |

#### Schedule

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Austria | 0 | 14 | 6 | 20 | 40 |
| Denmark | 0 | 7 | 8 | 0 | 15 |
at Myyrmäen jalkapallostadion, Vantaa
* Date: 29 July 2018
* Game time: 16:00 EEST
* Game attendance: 502
* Referee: Øyvind Løken
* Box score
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Denmark | 14 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 20 |
| Sweden | 0 | 7 | 17 | 6 | 30 |
at Myyrmäen jalkapallostadion, Vantaa
* Date: 31 July 2018
* Game time: 16:00 EEST
* Game attendance: 347
* Referee: Bård Beylich
* Box score
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Sweden | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Austria | 21 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 41 |
at Myyrmäen jalkapallostadion, Vantaa
* Date: 2 August 2018
* Game time: 16:00 EEST
* Game attendance: 512
* Referee: Øyvind Løken
* Box score

### Group B
#### Standings

| Team | W | L | Pct | PF | PA | PD |
| France | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | 63 | 23 | +40 |
| Finland | 1 | 1 | 0.500 | 42 | 28 | +14 |
| Great Britain | 0 | 2 | 0.000 | 16 | 70 | −54 |

#### Schedule

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Great Britain | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Finland | 7 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 28 |
at Myyrmäen jalkapallostadion, Vantaa
* Date: 29 July 2018
* Game time: 20:00 EEST
* Game attendance: 1650
* Referee: Bård Beylich
* Box score
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| France | 14 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 42 |
| Great Britain | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 9 |
at Myyrmäen jalkapallostadion, Vantaa
* Date: 31 July 2018
* Game time: 20:00 EEST
* Game attendance: 428
* Referee: Øyvind Løken
* Box score
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Finland | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 |
| France | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 21 |
at Myyrmäen jalkapallostadion, Vantaa
* Date: 2 August 2018
* Game time: 20:00 EEST
* Game attendance: 2518
* Referee: Bård Beylich
* Box score

### Finals

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Great Britain | 7 | 7 | 12 | 7 | 33 |
| Denmark | 0 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 16 |
at Myyrmäen jalkapallostadion, Vantaa
* Date: 4 August 2018
* Game time: 11:00 EEST
* Game weather: Sunny, +25°C
* Game attendance: 303
* Referee: Veikko Lamminsalo
* TV: YLE Areena
* Box score
Game information :
First quarter
GB – Dan Conroy 4-yard run (Ian Jacquet kick), 0:33. Great Britain 7–0.
Second quarter
GB – Dan Conroy 67-yard pass from Patrick Daley (Ian Jacquet kick), 5:16. Great Britain 14–0.
Third quarter
GB – Alex Haldane 20-yard fumble return (Kick failed), 8:34. Great Britain 20-0.
DEN – Lasse Lykke 2-yard pass from Kasper Bolmgren (Thomas Thellufsen pass from Lasse Hansen), 2:31. Great Britain 20-8.
GB – Josh Amis 100-yard kick-off return (Kick failed), 2:16 Great Britain 26-8
Fourth quarter
DEN – Aske Klixbüll 8-yard pass from Kasper Bolmgren (Thomas Ashworth pass from Lasse Hansen), 8:13. Great Britain 26-16.
GB – Ian Jacquet 20-yard pass from Patrick Daley (Ian Jacquet kick), 3:10. Great Britain 33-16
Top passers
GB – Patrick Daley – 15/24, 257 yards, 2 TD, INT
DEN – Kasper Bolmgren – 18/37, 210 yards, 2 TD, 4 INT
Top rushers
GB – Omodeji Alli – 7 rushes, 43 yards
DEN – Michel Konate – 13 rushes, 30 yards
Top receivers
GB – Dan Conroy – 2 receptions, 85 yards, 1 TD
DEN – Mads Christiansen – 3 receptions, 41 yards :
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Sweden | 0 | 6 | 15 | 0 | 21 |
| Finland | 7 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 35 |
at Myyrmäen jalkapallostadion, Vantaa
* Date: 4 August 2018
* Game time: 15:00 EEST
* Game weather: Cloudy, +24°C
* Game attendance: 1,984
* Referee: Bård Beylich
* TV: YLE Areena
* Box score
Game information :
First quarter
FIN – Karri Pajarinen 14-yard run (Joni-Petteri Malka kick), 9:33. Finland 7-0.
Second quarter
FIN – Marcus Siiskonen 34-yard pass from Miro Kadmiry (Joni-Petteri Malka kick), 9:01. Finland 14-0.
SWE – Philip Juhlin 8-yard run (Kick failed), 0:58. Finland 14-6.
Third quarter
FIN – Veikka Lehtonen 4-yard run (Joni-Petteri Malka kick), 9:32. Finland 21-6.
SWE – Jacob Dahre 7-yard pass from Philip Juhlin (Jacob Dahre pass from Philip Juhlin), 6:36. Finland 21-14
SWE – Emil Knutsson 18-yard pass from Philip Juhlin (Jacob Dahre kick), 0:44. Tied 21-21.
Fourth quarter
FIN – Karri Pajarinen 4-yard run (Joni-Petteri Malka kick), 8:08. Finland 28-21.
FIN – Veikka Lehtonen 6-yard run (Joni-Petteri Malka kick), 1:56. Finland 35-21.
Top passers
SWE – Philip Juhlin – 21/41, 310 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT
FIN – Miro Kadmiry – 13/18, 159 yards, TD
Top rushers
SWE – Philip Juhlin – 13 rushes, 80 yards, TD
FIN – Karri Pajarinen – 12 rushes, 82 yards, 2 TD
Top receivers
SWE – Jacob Dahre – 10 receptions, 122 yards, TD
FIN – Marcus Siiskonen – 2 receptions, 41 yards, TD :
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| France | 7 | 0 | 14 | 7 | 28 |
| Austria | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
at Myyrmäen jalkapallostadion, Vantaa
* Date: 4 August 2018
* Game time: 18:00 EEST
* Game weather: Cloudy, +24°C
* Game attendance: 1,757
* Referee: Øyvind Løken
* TV: YLE Areena
* Box score
Game information :
First quarter
FRA – Andrew James 34-yard pass from Paul Durand (Jefferson Alexandre kick), 2:42. France 7-0. Drive: 7 plays, 70 yards, 3:18
Second quarter
AUT – Sandro Platzgummer 41-yard run (Thomas Pichlmann kick), 10:15. Tied 7-7. Drive: 7 plays, 79 yards, 4:23
AUT – Berhard Seikovits 12-yard pass from Alexander Thury (Thomas Pichlmann kick), 2:51. Austria 14-7. Drive: 4 plays, 36 yards, 1:30
Third quarter
FRA – Jason Aguemon 49-yard run (Jefferson Alexandre kick), 9:01. Tied 14-14. Drive: 6 plays, 81 yards, 2:53
FRA – Jerome Valbon 1-yard pass from Paul Durand (Jefferson Alexandre kick), 3:38. France 21-14. Drive: 8 plays, 63 yards, 3:50
Fourth quarter
FRA – Jefferson Alexandre 20-yard pass from Paul Durand (Jefferson Alexandre kick), 5:25. France 28-14. Drive: 10 plays, 75 yards, 4:49
Top passers
FRA – Paul Durand – 18/27, 225 yards, 3 TD, INT
AUT – Alexander Thury – 10/28, 85 yards, TD, INT
Top rushers
FRA – Jason Aguemon – 11 rushes, 63 yards, TD
AUT – Sandro Platzgummer – 7 rushes, 58 yards, TD
Top receivers
FRA – Jefferson Alexandre – 4 receptions, 54 yards, TD
AUT – Berhard Seikovits – 5 receptions, 46 yards, TD :