2018 European Championship of American football
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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.
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host nation |  Finland |
| Dates | 29 July – 4 August 2018 |
| No. of nations | 6 |
| Final positions | |
Champions  |  France |
Runner-up  |  Austria |
Third-place  | Finland |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Attendance | 10,001 (Avg. ~1,111 per game) |
| MVP of the tournament |  QB Paul Durand |
← 2014 2021 → | |
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  |
0–21 |  Switzerland |
Stadion Rankhof, Basel |
| 10 October | 1:00 p.m. CEST | Norway  |
0–20 |  Russia |
Tsarskoye Selo Stadium, Pushkin |
| 10 October | 2:00 p.m. CEST | Hungary  |
0–56 |  Serbia |
Voždovac Stadium, Belgrade |
| 11 October | 2:00 p.m. CEST | Poland  |
7–14 |  Czech Republic |
Letní stadion, Pardubice |
| 24 October | 6:00 p.m. CEST | Belgium  |
3–17 |  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
| 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 |
0–17 | Serbia |
Stadio G. Teghil, Lignano Sabbiadoro |
| Classification game | |||||
| 4 September | 3:00 p.m. CEST | Israel |
0–51 | 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 | Kickoff | Away | Score | Home | Game site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Semifinals | |||||
| 16 September | Russia |
3–30 |  Great Britain |
Sixways Stadium, Worcester | |
| 16 September | Netherlands |
13–20 | Czech Republic |
Sixways Stadium, Worcester | |
| Classification game | |||||
| 18 September | Russia |
6–17 | 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 qualified for the final tournament[1] as only one of the four teams without any match played. Finland, who was already qualified, did not appear on the schedule and no reasons were given.
By March 2018, Sweden, Denmark, and Great Britain had advanced to the final tournament. Germany and Italy were not on the list. According to American Football International 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.[2]
Teams
Venue
All games were played at Myyrmäen jalkapallostadion in Vantaa, Finland.
| Vantaa |
| Myyrmäen jalkapallostadion Capacity: 4,700 |
 |
Group stages
Group A
Standings
Schedule
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
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| France |
14 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 42 |
| Great Britain |
3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 9 |
at Myyrmäen jalkapallostadion, Vantaa
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
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at Myyrmäen jalkapallostadion, Vantaa
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at Myyrmäen jalkapallostadion, Vantaa
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