Finland achieved a stunning 9-8 (9-0) victory over Italy on Saturday in the EM semi-final played in Grefeld, Germany. Finland’s opponent in the final will be determined based on the Austria-Germany match played tonight at 8 PM.

Finland reached the American football EM final for the second consecutive time by defeating a strong Italian team reinforced by two passing American players in the rain-soaked Grotenburg Stadium in Grefeld. In wet conditions, defenses play a significant role in American football, and on Saturday, Finland’s defensive squad played an incredible game.

Finland opened the scoring in the first quarter with a touchdown run by Tuukka Lehtonen. The run was preceded by a beautiful pass play from Ambro Urjansson to Luukas Eerola. Kicker Anssi Ruohonen successfully made a three-point field goal just before halftime, and Finland went into the break with a 9-0 lead.

The ball like a bar of soap in the second half

In the second half of the match, Italy launched an aggressive comeback, but Finland’s rock-solid defense held firm, and Italy could not get past during the tense final moments of the game. Italy managed to score its first points only at the beginning of the last quarter after Finland had to start its offense six yards from its own end zone. A bad snap and a slippery ball led to an Italian safety, making the score 9-2.

Italy managed to score again just two minutes before the final whistle. With a catch by Fabrizio Umetelli, Italy narrowed the score to 9-8, and the Italian coaching staff decided to go for a two-point conversion to try to win the game. However, Finland’s defense was impenetrable, and with a one-point lead, they had to endure the final seconds ticking away.

Some of the remarkable Finnish performances in the closing moments of the game included Akseli Olin’s impressive punt to Italy’s 9-yard line and Viljo Lempinen’s spectacular sack, which helped prevent Italy’s advances in the final seconds of the match.

Finland’s best player was awarded to the defense’s Felix Salonen.

The most disgraceful performance of the afternoon was the German federation’s blunders in broadcasting

Finland and Italy’s thrilling semi-final match deserved its audience and Finnish commentary on Ruutu. This was supposed to happen, but due to the unforgivable blunders of the German federation, the broadcast was never made available on Finland’s American football home channel Ruutu. In a difficult situation, the national team’s social media manager Alina Blomqvist provided first aid to the Finnish audience with an IG live of the match, and eventually, IFAF TV managed to get the connections sorted out.

The European Championship in American football is now being held for the 17th time. Finland has managed to reach the final 11 times and has won five championships.

Image: Jarmo Vehkomäki