Women’s flag football national team finishes fourth in the Nations Cup

The Finnish women’s flag football national team participated in the Nations Cup for national teams held in the Czech Republic over the weekend. The team, which traveled to Prague with a narrow roster, finished fourth in the tournament.

The women’s flag football national team, preparing for the 2027 European Championship, took part in a seven-nation tournament held last weekend in Prague, Czech Republic, which brought together national teams that had not participated in the previous World Championship held in Düsseldorf.

Finland entered the tournament with a narrow group of only ten players, the smallest among the teams in the tournament. Since this was not an official IFAF tournament, there were no restrictions on team sizes. For example, Sweden’s team had as many as 18 players named in their roster.

Three victories on the opening day

Finland had a fantastic start to the tournament. On the opening day, they defeated Switzerland, Poland, and Sweden. Head coach Ville-Valtteri Suojanen praised his team’s performance as follows:

– The first day went brilliantly. We had successes across the board and managed to integrate new players into the team well. Three games, three wins, so we must be satisfied. Among the day’s standout performers, Aino Helskyaho deserves a mention, as she recorded 6 interceptions, 4 of which resulted in touchdowns.

In the first match of the second day of the tournament, Ukraine claimed victory, but Finland impressively defeated both the Czech Republic and Ireland in the remaining group stage games.

On the final day of the tournament, a second victory over Sweden took the Finns into the top four, but a semifinal loss to the Czech Republic and a bitter one-point defeat to Switzerland in the bronze match eliminated Finland from medal contention.

Only Ukraine remained undefeated

Finland’s narrow tournament roster consisted of a few experienced players accustomed to national team games, but it also included first-time national team players and players promoted from the youth national team Team LA development group.

Finland impressively won six out of the nine matches they played, and only Ukraine among the tournament teams did not lose to the Finns. Juuso Marno, who coordinated the women’s national team’s offense, was particularly pleased that Finland (ranked 17th) managed to defeat teams ranked higher in the world rankings, such as the Czech Republic (#16) and Switzerland (#14).

–We outplayed the Czech Republic and Switzerland, but easy mistakes in the placement games stopped our drives. Flag IQ and the mental side ultimately made the difference.

The tournament was won by Ukraine, which defeated the Czech Republic 20–7 in the final. Finland’s bronze match against Switzerland ended in a heartbreaking 28–27 loss.

Tournament results service: Nations Cup 2026

Photo: @veni_vidi_vici_photography