The annual France Festival is taking place in Düsseldorf this weekend. And Rhein Fire wants to play its part in the celebrations - with a win against the visiting Paris Musketeers.

Seven days after the duel against Frankfurt Galaxy - won by a clear 48:13 - the battle for the top spot in the Western Conference of the European League of Football (ELF) is set to begin on Sunday (28 July 2024, kickoff at 13 CET) in Duisburg's Schauinsland-Reisen-Arena.

The French side have lost the first leg against Rhein Fire, but are on a four-win-streak, making them the closest rivals to Düsseldorf.

"We have a tough job to do"

"With a win, we'd almost be sure of winning the group", says Rhein Fire coach Jim Tomsula with a laugh: "That's one more reason why it should be a France festival for us too."

The Rhinelanders can almost draw out of a full roster of players. "Quite a few of our lads are ‘banged up’, but that's quite normal. Eight tough games in eight weeks leave their mark", says Tomsula, "they've really earned the following week off from games and training." But: "That only applies from Sunday evening. Until then, we still have a tough job to do, with full concentration and total commitment."

Toonga wants to extend his record

In regards of the Offense, the injured Sergej Kendus and Justin Schlesinger will have to sit out against Paris - as they did during the two clear victories in Hamburg and against Frankfurt. "Nevertheless, we won't let them stop us", promises Offense Coordinator Andrew Weidinger. Furthermore, Glen Toonga wants to extend his streak of six games in a row with more than 100 rushing yards (1,305 yards in total) and the ELF record of 23 touchdowns this season.

In addition, quarterback Jadrian Clark has now returned to his top form of last season in the passing game.

"We will put pressure on the Musketeers' Offense"

On the other side, Rhein Fire's Defense will have to stop Zach Edwards. The 26-year-old American QB is currently running hot. "He's certainly very dangerous, but we're prepared for him", says Richard Kent. However, the Fire's Defense coordinator has not trained "anything special" with his guys: "We will put pressure on the Musketeers' attack and be successful with our usual game", says Kent.