Aug. 14 (UPI) -- Taulia Tagovailoa threw five touchdowns to lead American Samoa to a 38-32 upset win over Team USA on Friday at the Flag Football World Championships. The loss, which took place in Dusseldorf, Germany, was the Americans' first in a competitive match since 2012. "The hard work we put in, I'm just so happy for our players and happy for our country," Tagovailoa told the International Federation of American Football website. "That's who we do it for." Tagovailoa, the younger brother of Atlanta Falcons quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, threw for 214 yards. Wide receiver Bralon Brown, who played at Southern Miss, Marshall and Ole Miss, secured 11 catches for 118 yards. American Samoa's Tai Tiedemann also accounted for three scores. Team USA quarterback Nico Casares accounted for three touchdowns. Fellow Team USA passer Darrell Doucette III recorded two scores. Velton Brown Jr. gave the Americans the lead with the first score of the day. Tiedemann ran for a game-tying touchdown less than four minutes later. Tagovailoa threw a touchdown toss to Jahcour Pearson for a 12-6 American Samoa lead with 8:26 remaining in the first half. Doucette hit Casares for a Team USA score on the next drive. Casares then threw to Tyler Davis for a succesful 1-point try for a 13-12 Team USA lead. But Tagovailoa answered with a touchdown toss to Tiedemann. He also connected with Brown for a successful 1-point try for an 19-13 lead at the break. The former Maryland quarterback retained momentum with another touchdown toss to Tiedemann 2:17 into the second half. He followed with a 1-point toss to Brown. Tagovailoa connected with Pearson for a deep score with 8:43 remaining and American Samoa never looked back.
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Ja'Deion High, who previously played at Texas Tech, caught a touchdown pass for the Americans about four minutes later, but Tagovailoa answered with his final touchdown toss, finding Pearson in the back of the end zone with 67 seconds remaining. High caught the final touchdown pass of the day with 29 seconds remaining in the loss. The Americans, who went undefeated en route to world titles in 2014, 2016, 2018, 2021 and 2024, opened the 2026 tournament with a 50-38 win over Israel on Thursday in Dusseldorf. They advanced to the Flag Football World Championship quarterfinals later Friday with a 40-7 win over Australia in a group-stage finale. American Samoa and Team USA each finished 2-1 atop Group A. The Australians (1-2) and Israelis (1-2) failed to advance to the quarterfinals. Team USA will face Japan in a quarterfinal Saturday in Dusseldorf. American Samoa will take on Canada in the quarterfinals. The men's and women's gold medal games will be held Sunday. The American women will play Germany in another quarterfinal Saturday in Dusseldorf. The Americans automatically qualified for men's and women's flag football at the 2028 Summer Olympics thanks to their status as a host nation. The Olympic competitions will feature two six-team tournaments. Teams can qualify through the World Championships and Olympic Q-Series, which will be held in June 2028. The Top 2 teams of each gender at the World Championships will obtain a quota placement in the Olympics. The last three spots, per gender, will be secured at the Q-Series. The first stage will be held June 1 to 4 2028 in Montreal. The second stage will be June 8 to 11 in Orlando, Fla. The three highest-placed teams of each gender will obtain qualification for the Summer Games. The three quotas must represent a minimum of two continents. Teams previously qualified through the World Championships cannot participate in the Q-Series. NFL owners previously voted to allow their players to participate in flag football at the Olympics. Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow and Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson are among the NFL players who expressed interest in the competition. The 2028 Summer Olympics will be from July 14 to 30, with flag football competitions held in Los Angeles.