Germany overwhelm Finland 93–0 in IFAF U19 European Championship

Germany left Finland with no answers in Langenfeld, piling up 13 touchdowns in a 93–0 victory in their 2026/2027 IFAF U19 European Championship Group C matchup.

Valentino Cardenas Gonzales ran for three first-half touchdowns, Paul Hermann added three scores of his own and quarterback Lennard Thoma threw three touchdown passes and ran for another. Germany led 51–0 at halftime and continued to find the end zone after the break, with the defense and special teams making sure Finland had no opportunity to recover.

There are heavy defeats, and then there are afternoons when almost everything that can go wrong does. For Finland, this was firmly in the second category.

Germany takes control early

The visitors initially showed some promise on the ground through Konsta Mäenpää, but Germany soon took control. Finland struggled to sustain possessions, while the German offense repeatedly turned its opportunities into points.

Glenn Devin Knospe opened the scoring with a 40-yard touchdown run. Cardenas Gonzales added another rushing score before Thoma connected with Hermann for a 36-yard touchdown. The two-point attempt failed, leaving Germany ahead 20–0 at the end of the first quarter.

Second-quarter surge breaks it open

Any Finnish hopes of slowing the game down disappeared in the second. Sascha Bordasch’s 25-yard field goal extended the lead before Cardenas Gonzales scored from 15 yards and then broke away for a 51-yard touchdown, his third of the afternoon.

Hermann followed with a rushing touchdown, and Thoma found Maximilian El Musiol for a 17-yard score to make it 51–0 at halftime. Germany had scored on every first-half possession. Finland had yet to find a foothold.

Special teams joins the scoring

Thoma picked up where he had left off after the interval, hitting Tyler Glös for a 19-yard touchdown. Germany’s special teams then joined in: Matthes Borgmann blocked a Finnish punt, and Oscar Kopic collected the ball and returned it for another score.

With the offense already producing more than enough points, that was the last thing Finland needed.

Thoma added a 12-yard touchdown run, and Ian Kiesig also scored on the ground as Germany took a 79–0 lead into the fourth quarter. The change of personnel brought little relief for the visitors. Backup quarterback Finn Cort took over, Ulli Stecher scored on a four-yard run and Hermann completed his three-touchdown afternoon with a one-yard finish.

Germany eventually closed the game in victory formation, having scored nine rushing touchdowns, three through the air and one on a blocked punt return.

Bordasch finished with 15 points from 12 extra-point kicks and his field goal. Germany’s only failed conversion was the two-point attempt after its third touchdown.

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Defense protects the shutout

For all the offensive production, Germany’s defense deserves its share of the credit. Jordan Reed and Aaron Ferber came up with interceptions, and Finland’s early promise on the ground gave way to a succession of stalled possessions. Even with the result settled long before the final whistle, Germany protected the shutout.

Cardenas Gonzales supplied the early explosiveness, Hermann showed his value both carrying and catching the ball, and Thoma directed an attack Finland never managed to contain. The challenge for Germany now is to carry that execution into a more competitive test. For Finland, the immediate task is to regroup after an afternoon that exposed problems on both sides of the ball.

Scoring summary

Germany 93, Finland 0
Germany: 20 – 31 – 28 – 14
Finland: 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

First quarter

GER — Knospe 40-yard run (Bordasch kick), 7–0
GER — Cardenas Gonzales run (Bordasch kick), 14–0
GER — Hermann 36-yard pass from Thoma (two-point attempt failed), 20–0

Second quarter

GER — Bordasch 25-yard field goal, 23–0
GER — Cardenas Gonzales 15-yard run (Bordasch kick), 30–0
GER — Cardenas Gonzales 51-yard run (Bordasch kick), 37–0
GER — Hermann run (Bordasch kick), 44–0
GER — El Musiol 17-yard pass from Thoma (Bordasch kick), 51–0

Third quarter

GER — Glös 19-yard pass from Thoma (Bordasch kick), 58–0
GER — Kopic blocked punt return (Bordasch kick), 65–0
GER — Thoma 12-yard run (Bordasch kick), 72–0
GER — Kiesig run (Bordasch kick), 79–0