Austria rolls past Czech Republic to clinch U19 European Championship medal-round berth
The Austrian (2-0) U19 national team punched its ticket to the 2027 medal round Sunday, pulling away from the Czech Republic (0-2) for a 41-6 victory at the Ravelin Football Centre in Vienna in the 2026/27 IFAF U19 European Tackle Football Championships.
The win completed a perfect Group A run for the defending champions, who had already beaten Spain 17-7 in April. Austria will now join Germany and Italy in next year’s medal round.
Austria grabs the early lead
Austria struck first when quarterback Julian Hennerbichler connected with Maximilian Fellner for a touchdown and Leo Wurzinger added the extra point.
Jakob Walch then picked off the Czech Republic, handing the ball back to the Austrian offense, although the visitors kept the deficit at seven through the end of the first quarter.
Wurzinger later added a field goal before the Czech Republic answered. Ondřej Vít went downfield to Denis Kadrle for a touchdown, cutting into the Austrian advantage.
Photo: AFBÖ/David Bitzan
Running game opens the gap
Hennerbichler and Dean Opara then went to work on the ground. Both ran for touchdowns as Austria began putting distance between itself and the visitors.
Wurzinger’s field goal near the end of the half sent Austria into the locker room holding a 24-6 advantage.
The Czech Republic would not score again.
Austria puts it away
Opara broke loose for his second rushing touchdown after halftime, and Hennerbichler later found Lukas Kowar for another score as Austria continued pulling away.
While the offense kept adding points, the Austrian defense slammed the door on any comeback, keeping the Czechs off the scoreboard throughout the second half. Wurzinger added another field goal to complete the 41-6 win.
The victory keeps Austria’s remarkable run against European opposition intact. The defending champions have not lost at the European level since 2011.
More importantly, Austria has taken care of the first part of its title defense. Next comes the medal round in 2027, where Germany and Italy will be waiting.
