The Finnish U19 American football team took a comfortable 14–17 (7-14) away win over France in a match played in Villepinte, outside Paris, on Sunday. The win secured Finland a place in the age group medal games to be played in the summer of 2025.

The Finnish U19 youth team was on top of the game throughout the game and did not let the French escape despite home advantage and man superiority. Finland’s touchdowns were recorded by Tuana Bibani and Oskari Suoniemi. Seeti Korpi scored the decisive three-point difference at the end of the third quarter of the game with a kick. The French attack pressed on throughout the last quarter, but the Finnish defense did its job and sealed the victory.

Finnish head coach Toni Uusitalo praised the team’s mental strength at the end of the victorious game:

-A truly amazing match. Despite the small roster, we managed to turn a tight game into a victory. France was strong as expected and challenged us really well with their physicality. However, our players accepted the challenge and the team’s mental edge held up well.

Offensive coordinator Tuomas Mankki admitted that the game had its own difficult moments, but in the end the defense kept Finland’s place in the medal games assured for hundreds:

-Another really exciting and tight match, but we managed to turn this into a win in the end. The offense moved the ball really well for the most part, but we suffered from turnovers in a couple of critical points. In the end, the defense played great and kept the opponent from scoring for almost half of the game, and the decisive points were scored on a field goal – despite the undulations of the game, it was ultimately a collective victory for the offense, defense and special teams.

The Finnish youth team defeated Italy 36-16 in their opening group stage match played in Vantaa in September. The victory over France secured Finland a group win and a place in the three-team medal games in 2025 together with Austria and Sweden. So, the medal color is at stake in the summer 2025 games – the medal position was confirmed on Sunday.

Cover photo:  FFFA