Japan knocks off Korea to claim final World Championship spot

Asian champion joins host Austria, Australia, Canada, France, Germany,
Mexico and United States at American Football summer showpiece

Japan claimed the eighth and final berth at this summer’s 2011 IFAF Senior World Championship of American Football with a convincing 76-0 win over Korea at Kawasaki Stadium near Tokyo.

Japan was crowned champion of the Asian Federation of American Football (AFAF) and now joins Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Mexico and the United States to compete for the title of American Football world champions in Austria this summer from July 8 to 16, 2011.

The IFAF Senior World Championship is held every four years having first been contested in 1999 and the eight nations from four continents will compete in Vienna, Innsbruck and Graz in the fourth edition. Japan boasts the world’s most impressive resume, having reached the final in each of the previous three tournaments, winning in both 1999 and 2003, before falling 23-20 in double overtime to the United States in 2007.

Despite the overwhelming victory and the fact his team defeated European champion Germany in 2010, Japan head coach Kiyoyuki Mori remains cautious heading into this summer’s tournament.

“We had some mistakes in the fourth quarter and we found issues to get resolved before the world championship starts,” he warned. “My players showed pride as Japan national team members.”

Korea head coach Tatsuhide Fukuda, said of his team’s defeat: “We knew there is a big gap of football level between Japan and Korea. We could have played so that we had a smaller margin of the score, but playing conservatively will not help football in Korea develop in the future. We decided to go aggressively.”

Japan was in control from the opening of the 76-point shutout of Korea, returning the opening kickoff 89 yards to set up a three-yard Takuya Furutani touchdown run. A blocked punt recovered and returned for a touchdown followed by a Japanese interception that led to another trip to the end zone and another rushing score opened a 28-point lead by the end of the first quarter.

Rotating quarterbacks Shun Sugawara (5-5-50-1-0), Tetsuo Takata (13-9-150-2-0) and Minoru Tohno (17-12-138-2-0) all threw touchdowns as Japan dominated Korea by 505 yards to 126 in total offense and defensively, four interceptions locked down the Korean attack.

Ryouma Hagiyama led all receivers with 6 catches for 96 yards and a touchdown, while Shouei Hasegawa had 4 receptions for 72 yards and 2 touchdowns. On the ground, Furutani carried 4 times for 79 yards and 2 touchdowns, Yasuhiro Maruta had 5 carries for 12 yards and 2 touchdowns and Tomokazu Sueyoshi led the team with 6 rushes for 48 yards.

Japan kicker Daisuke Aoki was named the game’s MVP as he converted all 10 extra points and two of three field goal attempts from 27 and 39 yards.

Stats from the Japan-Korea game may be downloaded at the official www.IFAF.org website.

Japan will join host Austria, European Championship runner up France and first time entrant on the world stage at senior level Canada, in Group B at the 2011 IFAF Senior World Championship. Japan and Austria will meet in the group’s first game on July 9.

Reigning champion the United States, whose first world championship was won in Japan in 2007, will face European champion Germany in Group A and will also take on Australia and fellow PAFAF (Pan American Federation of American Football) nation Mexico.

“We believe this tournament will be very important for our sport and its international future. We want to bring the world closer together on the gridiron and make the 2011 IFAF World Championship a truly outstanding event for the global American football community,” said MICHAEL ESCHLBOECK,President of the American Football Bund Österreich (Austrian Federation of American Football).

Each team will face its group opponent once and from the final standings the group winners will advance to the IFAF Senior World Championship Game to play for the Gold Medal on Saturday, July 16 in the Austrian capital Vienna. The two second-placed teams will contest the Bronze Medal in Vienna on Friday, July 15.

About IFAF
The International Federation of American Football (IFAF) unites 59 countries on five continents through a burgeoning international sport. With national football federations in existence for more than 75 years, IFAF was created in 1998 to organize and further develop the game through international cooperation and global competition. The IFAF office is located near Paris, France.