Canada 1 advances to world junior football tournament final

EDMONTON — Canada will chase a third straight world junior football title.

Canada 1 earned a 27-20 semifinal win over Austria on Wednesday night to secure a berth in the International Federation of American Football (IFAF) final Sunday night at Commonwealth Stadium. The Canadians will meet Japan, which advanced with a 41-20 victory over the United States.

Austria and the U.S. will battle for the bronze medal Sunday afternoon.

The tournament is being held for the first time since 2018. Plans to stage the event in 2020 and 2021 were cancelled due to the global pandemic.

Canada has dominated this competition, earning medals in all five previous tournaments — three gold (2012, 2016, 2018), two silver (2009, 2014). The Canadians and U.S. have met in the final four times, the lone exception being 2018 when Canada defeated Mexico 13-7 before a record 35,000-plus spectators in Mexico City.

Canadian head coach Warren Craney will secure a fifth world championship medal. He entered the event as its most-decorated coach with four — gold in 2012 as defensive co-ordinator and 2016 as head coach; silver in 2009 as defensive co-ordinator and 2014 as head coach.

Craney assumed head-coaching duties from St. Mary’s Steve Sumarah, who led Canada to gold in 2018. Craney was to be the 2024 team’s special-teams co-ordinator before taking over the top job.

Canada 1 opened the tournament with a lopsided 110-0 win over Brazil on Saturday.

The host country has two teams in the tournament. Canada 2, led by former McGill head coach Ron Hilaire, defeated Brazil 63-7 on Wednesday and will play Australia on Sunday to determine the fifth- and sixth-place finishers.

Canada 2 opened the tournament with a 41-13 loss to Austria on Saturday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 27, 2024.

The Canadian Press