The United States remains on top of the flag football world.
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Team USA captured its sixth consecutive men's world championship at the 2026 IFAF Flag Football World Championships in Düsseldorf, Germany, defeating Italy 46-26 in the gold-medal game.
The Americans' path to another championship wasn't nearly as easy as the final score might suggest.
The U.S. suffered its first loss at a World Championship in 14 years when American Samoa pulled off an upset during group play. Team USA then survived two close games in the knockout rounds, beating Japan 45-38 in the quarterfinals and Mexico 42-40 in the semifinals.
The Americans finally pulled away from Italy in the championship game, with Darrell "Housh" Doucette III earning tournament MVP honors.
Here are the results from the men's medal and knockout rounds:
Gold Medal Game
- United States 46, Italy 26
Bronze Medal Game
- Canada 34, Mexico 26 (OT)
Semifinals
- United States 42, Mexico 40
- Italy 41, Canada 36
Quarterfinals
- United States 45, Japan 38
- Italy 38, Germany 22
- Canada 24, American Samoa 14
- Mexico 33, Panama 19
The tournament also carried major implications beyond another world championship.
Flag football will make its Olympic debut at the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles, with six men's teams competing. The United States has already qualified automatically as the host nation, while Italy and Canada secured Olympic berths based on their performances in Germany.
Additional teams will have opportunities to qualify through continental championships in 2027 and the Olympic Qualifying Series in 2028.
So while the rest of the world continues closing the gap, the result at the top remains familiar.
Six straight world championships for Team USA.
