Finland, Sweden advance to Nordic U19 Championship final

The two favorites, Team Finland and Team Sweden took care of business Friday night in the 2018 Nordic U19 Championships in Kristianstad, Sweden.

Finland defeated a feisty Danish national team 39-6 while the Swedes controlled Norway throughout the game, blanking them 38-0.

Finland 39 – Denmark 6

Finland and Denmark were first out on a sunny Kristianstad IP, and initially the Danish defense, supported by a loud and boisterous sideline, played well, keeping the powerful Finnish team in check. But as the game progressed, Finland slowly took control,  and in the second quarter left the Danes behind taking a 17-0 lead.

However, Denmark reduced the lead to 17-6 on their first drive of the second half. Finland responded immediately though with another touchdown to increase the lead to 24-6 and then cruise to an easy 39-6 win.

Sweden 38 – Norway 0

 

Team Sweden opened the game against Norway with a beautiful touchdown on the first play from scrimmage, a mere eight seconds in.  Wide receiver Theodore Landstrom hauled in a touchdown pass and Sweden led 6-0.

The first half continued in the same style and Sweden rolled out to a comfortable 32 -0 lead at the break  with running back Jonathan Gustafsson getting the hat trick . Gustafsson scored three straight touchdowns in the first half while Sweden’s defense kept the Norwegians in check.

The second half was much closer, as Sweden’s offense lost momentum while Norway began gaining momentum.

Sweden scored the only points in the second half when running back Victor Lundberg Cimrell stormed into the end zone to finalize the score at 38-0.

With this, the Finns will face Sweden for the gold medal in the 2018 Nordic U19 Championships on Sunday. In the bronze medal game, Denmark will take on the Norwegians.

Source: Peter Nilsson, Swedish American Football Federation