Team Sweden will take on neighboring Team Denmark in the opening game of the second round of games in the 2018 IFAF European Championships in Vantaa, Finland, July 31.
Denmark lost their tournament opening game to Austria 40-15 after trailing by only five points heading into the final quarter. Sweden is playing in their first game of the tournament. The last time Sweden and Denmark faced each other was in the 2014 tournament in the game for fifth place. Sweden came out on top in that game, beating Denmark 24-17.
This is only the second time Denmark has competed in the European Championships. They first competed against the top teams in Europe in the 2014 European Championship held in Austria. In that tournament, Denmark finished sixth after dropping both their group games against Austria and France by lopsided scores. They lost their final game to Sweden and finished sixth.
Sweden has a gold, silver and bronze medal in the 13 tournaments that have been held since 1983. The Swedish national team won the European Championships in 2005 playing at home. Sweden defeated Team Germany in the gold medal final 16-7. The Swedish team captured the silver medal in 1997, losing to Finland 27-6. In 2001, Sweden beat Great Britain to win the bronze. In the 2014 tournament in Austria, which Germany won, Sweden finished fifth and in 1993 Sweden lost to Germany in the bronze medal game, to finish fourth.
The Swedes played two games in 2017 and two in 2016. Sweden lost to Team Finland 37-0 in 2017 in their annual grudge match but rebounded to defeat the Great Britain Lions 15-12. Notably, in both of those games, Sweden played without their two top quarterbacks, Philip Juhlin and Anders Hermodsson. Juhlin will be starting in the game against Denmark. In the 2016 meeting between Sweden and Finland, the Finns also came out on top, beating Team Sweden 31-17. That year Sweden also defeated the Polish national team in Poland, 28-21.
The last time Team Denmark took the field was against the Polish national team in 2016. In that game, Denmark came away with a 37-35 win,
In the loss to Austria, Danish starting quarterback Jakob Karkov threw for 214 yards and a pair of touchdowns, both to Aske Troen Klixbüll who caught seven passes for 46 yards. Thomas Mikkel Ashworth had 108 yards receiving on five catches. But Denmark could not establish a running game with a total of 32 yards rushing with starting running back Lasse Lykke held to only 14 yards for the game. Danish head coach Lars Carlsen will have to find a way to get his ground game going.
Defensively, Denmark had trouble in their loss against Austria against the run especially when Austria’s quarterback, Alexander Thury, chose to use his legs. He rushed for 91 yards and two touchdowns against Denmark.
With Philip Juhlin starting at quarterback, Sweden’s offense will be potent. Juhlin can use his legs effectively and has been the leading passer for the past three years in the Swedish Superserien. At running back is Emil Knutsson who led the league in rushing this year. The receiving corps includes Juhlin’s teammate with the Carlstad Crusaders, Jacob Dahre who can give corners matchup problems with his size. Johannes Lindeus had a breakout year in 2018 in Sweden and will also be a threat at wide receiver.
Defensively, Sweden’s front seven is anchored by linebacker Filip Jönsson while veteran defensive back Philip Minja adds experience in the secondary.
Watch the game live presented by American Football International in partnership with Mobile-TV and YareTV. The stream is geo-blocked in Austria and Germany, but available on-line to the rest of our worldwide audience.
2018 IFAF European Championships: Team Sweden v. Team Denmark, July 31, 4p (3p CEST, 9a EST, 6a PDT)