Austria is still undefeated at the Flag Football World Cup. The men and women have won seven games in total so far. After the second match day of the World Cup in Lahti, the men are already in the quarter-finals, while the women won their group in impressive fashion.
Three games were scheduled for Wednesday, two for the men and one for the women.
Group victory through victory over Switzerland
The men’s national team kicked off with the final group match. Opponent Switzerland delivered the team of Head Coach Michael Solomon a great fight, but in the end Austria won safely with 24:12 and was thus confirmed as group winner.
Women defeat Spain in thriller
On paper, the women’s national team had a much more difficult task ahead of them: In the final group match and in the fight for group victory, they faced none other than European runners-up Spain. The expected heated exchange of blows with alternating scores developed. Thanks to a touchdown just 20 seconds before the end of the game, including a successful extra point, the selection of Head Coach Robert Riedl with 29:28 in the lead and also stopped the last attack of the Spanish women.
This means that after the men, the women also won their group, and the round of 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals could take place on Thursday – all on the same day. The opponent in the round of 16 will be determined this evening.
Great success to end the day
At the end of the day, Austria’s men faced Australia in the round of 16. Although the team from Down Under took an early lead, QB Felix Wasshuber and Co. kept a cool head and, thanks to highlight plays in offense and defense, pulled ahead by two scores. Australia showed a very strong performance, especially in the second half, and came within nine points.
Austria’s men are now in the quarter-finals of the World Cup, where they will face Denmark. An early meeting with the big gold favorites USA was avoided thanks to winning the group, and a duel with them could only take place in the final.
Michael SolomonHead Coach Herren: “I am very happy with my team’s performance! We played a perfect game on both sides, exactly what we wanted to do. We know that if we perform to our best, we will be very difficult to beat. Now we will rest and be ready for the quarter-finals tomorrow!”
Jürgen HahnDefensive Coordinator Damen: “It was the difficult game against European runner-up Spain that we expected. Everything was up for grabs until the last second, but in the end we were able to win the group with a great team performance!”
The results of the second day of the tournament:
Herren
Austria vs. Switzerland: 24:12
Round of 16: Austria vs. Australia: 28:19
Damen
Austria vs. Spain: 29:28
Next Up:
Herren
Quarterfinals on Thursday: Austria vs. Denmark
Damen
Round of 16 on Thursday (opponent and time not yet fixed)
