IFAF Flag Football World Championships: U.S. males dominate Italy

The IFAF Flag Football World Championships 2026 concluded in Dusseldorf, Germany on Sunday with the United States taking home the title for the men and Canada securing the victory for the women.

In the men’s tournament, the United States cruised to a 46-26 win over Italy. They were dominant from the start, building a 38-8 lead at halftime.

Tyler Davis led the way with three touchdowns. Defensively, Aamir “Nuskiii” Brown had a big day, coming up with two interceptions. Jordan Bouah scored two touchdowns for Italy.

In the bronze medal game, Canada pulled out a 34-26 overtime victory over Mexico. In overtime, Canada’s Antony Auclair scored a touchdown and a two-point conversion. Then, Guillaume Beland secured the win with an interception.

For Canada, Auclair and Daniel Petterman led the way with two touchdowns each. Damian Chirinos scored two touchdowns for Mexico.

In the women’s tournament, Canada defeated the United States 27-20 in the gold medal match. Following a Frederique Morneau touchdown, they extended their lead to 27-14 with 6:12 remaining. Morneau scored three touchdowns on the day.

Madison Fulford scored to cut the lead to 27-20 with 2:25 left. The United States got the ball back with 32 seconds left but were unable to pull out any late game heroics.

Mexico defeated Great Britain 20-19 in the bronze medal game. Mexico built a 20-6 lead at halftime, but Great Britain stormed back in the second half.

The two teams posted similar offensive numbers; Mexico led Great Britain in yardage 117-113. However, Mexico’s three interceptions proved to be the difference.

The World Championships serves as a qualifying event for the 2028 LA Olympic Games. As the host nation, the United States automatically qualifies. As a result, the next two highest-placing teams in the men’s (Italy and Canada) and women’s (Canada and Mexico) tournaments earned an automatic Olympic bid.

–Field Level Media