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How Tua Tagovailoa's brother snapped U.S. flag football team's 14-year undefeated streak originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
While many football fans may not have seriously watched flag football until the Fanatics Flag Football Classic earlier this year, American Samoa just gave the United States its first loss in the sport since 2012.
Taulia Tagovailoa, the younger brother of Atlanta Falcons starter Tua, led his team to a colossal upset over the defending champions of the last five editions of the IFAF World Championships. While the loss came before the knockout stages of the tournament, the U.S. was surely not expecting to drop points against this Samoan team.
Here's how Tagovailoa, the all-time Big Ten passing yards leader, snapped the United States' 14-year win streak.
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How U.S. flag football team lost undefeated streak
On the first day of the IFAF World Flag 26 tournament, American Samoa and the U.S. collided on the gridiron in Dusseldorf, Germany. While the United States led off with possession and an early score, Team American Samoa inched closer and closer back into this contest.
Tai Tiedemann, a former minor league baseball player who was drafted in the eighth round of the 2016 MLB Draft by the Texas Rangers, caught a bullet pass from Tagovailoa in the front left corner of the end zone to equalize for the Samoans. Tagovailoa, the former Maryland Terrapin and younger brother of Tua, went on to complete a total of 29 of 36 passes for 213 yards and five touchdowns.
The U.S. was able to regain the lead courtesy of Nicholas Casares, a familiar name from the Fanatics Flag Football Classic, but the Tagovailoa-Tiedemann connection proved to be just too much. After another score that saw American Samoa lead 18-13, they failed to lose that lead for the rest of Friday's contest.
Here are the highlights from Friday's game:
Why does Taulia Tagovailoa play for American Samoa?
Tagovailoa opted to play for American Samoa in the IFAF World Flag 26 tournament because he has Samoan descent through his parents. Diane and Galu Tagovailoa, despite raising their sons in Ewa Beach, Hawaii, before moving to Alabaster, Ala., have American Samoan descent, according to Samoa Global News.
Diane's parents were from the Pacific string of islands, although she was raised in Hawaii as a child. Tua and Taulia's father, Galu, was born there before moving to The Aloha State three years later.
“Our parents were born there and they moved to Hawaii and raised all of us,” Galu Tagovailoa told Saturday Down South in 2019. “The culture never left. It was kept alive. The language and traditional customs. Weddings, funerals, it’s not lost. It’s what’s been passed on from our parents. It’s what I want to pass on to our kids.”
MORE: Where is the Tagovailoa family from?
Last time U.S. flag football team lost
According to NBC Sports, the most recent U.S. flag football defeat was 14 years ago against Austria at the 2012 IFAF Flag Football World Championships in Sweden.
The U.S. led off on the front foot with a sizeable 19-7 lead. However, Team Austria showed the Stars and Stripes what they were made out of by clawing back. The European side clawed back through 19 unanswered points. In the final minute of regulation, the Austrians scored the go-ahead touchdown, which propelled them to a landmark 47-40 victory over the defending American champions.
Here are the highlights from the 2012 championship, which starts at around the 2:54 mark of the following tournament recap:
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U.S. flag football national championships
The United States has won six IFAF Flag Football World Championships, including their five most recent showings featuring an undefeated run, per NBC Sports. Here are the years that featured the Stars and Stripes as crowned champions of flag football:
| Year | Final opponent | Score |
| 2010 | Denmark | 35-19 |
| 2014 | Mexico | 40-14 |
| 2016 | Denmark | 33-32 |
| 2018 | Austria | 19-13 |
| 2021 | Mexico | 44-41 |
| 2024 | Austria | 53-21 |
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