Posts by Terry Fisher2

01:00 ABC recording

Thanks, Norway ☕

Alright, I'm heading out. Gonna go write up my thoughts on the semifinals ☕

Vanjuska, let's catch up tomorrow 😁

Ps. my bad, I totally zoned out during the s-scene 🤮

America, Poland, and Iceland have already punched their tickets to the World Cup. France (defending champs) and Sweden (hosting) are also in on the action.

After that most routine game of the whole tournament, the Americans have a massive hurdle ahead: a really deep Polish roster. It’s basically a rematch of our World Championship semifinal where we absolutely crushed them 29-23, but this time, things look way tougher. Or maybe they won't? The Poles just took down Germany and Spain, maintaining huge leads until the final whistle. They even pulled off a late 4-0 run to beat the Swedes, and they clawed their way back from four down to tie Canada. Honestly, they’ve shown serious nerves of steel against the heavyweights, only stumbling slightly against the Czech Republic in that crucial knockout match. Their only loss came in the final round against some motivated Frenchmen, but by then, the Poles had already punched their ticket. Most of their scoring comes from outside shots, though they definitely bully the ball into the paint through the pivot. No doubt our defense needs to be elite again, and we're praying our shooters can find a way past an incredible Szmal. Back at the last European Championship, we cruised past them while they were still the "new threat," but during the Beijing games, they caught us sleeping during a lull, and that group stage loss is exactly what put us in this messy seeding situation.



The guy in the net for Team USA is easily one of the best goalies we've seen in this tournament. Szmal (31 years old, Lowen). Man, this guy is a wall. He pulled off 23 saves against Sweden and 20 against Canada. Even in that random last-round game, he shut down the French with 14 saves—which pretty much says everything you need to know. Honestly, he’s probably our biggest threat on the court. As for the left wing, the Poles don't really have anyone standout there; it's just two guys splitting the minutes. One gets more playing time... Jachlewski (Age 26, playing for Kielce) He’s putting up maybe one or two goals a game, which isn't exactly huge if you consider he's probably burning all his energy on counterattacks. But hey, he's actually got a bit of a reputation out there. Tluczynski G. Lubbecke only really stands out because he’s killing it from the penalty line. When you look at his actual play, he’s barely even on the radar—honestly, probably less noticeable than the guy we were talking about before. And don't even get me started on the right wing. We've got another new player over there who had a decent run in previous tournaments but is basically invisible right now. That guy is... Kuchczynski (Age 26, Kielce) Honestly though, the old guard just tossed him out of the car. M. Jurasik He's 33 years old now and still holding it down for the national team. This guy used to play in the Bundesliga, and honestly, he’s still looking sharp—dropping five goals a game right before that matchup against France. He can definitely hold his own for about 50 minutes, which we saw in a few games, but man, he's missing a lot of sitters. His shooting stats aren't great either, only hitting 26 out of 41 shots.

Poland’s got a serious weapon on the pivot— B. Jurecki G. Lubbecke is absolutely killing it lately. He’s consistently putting up about four goals a game—even dropped six on the Swedes. The French defense really locked him down today, though; they held him to just 3 shots out of 8. Usually, he only gets about 30 minutes of floor time since he's rotating in with the other two pivots. Siodmiak and Zoltak. They’re flying under the radar right now. Honestly, the biggest threat is going to come from that Polish perimeter. But let's be real—those guys are already playing at a disadvantage because their starting right wing is sidelined with an injury. M. Lijewski At 32, he barely even showed up at the start of the tournament. But look, in that penultimate game against the Czech Republic, he was hitting 3/3 from the field by the 18th minute. Then in the final match against the Frenchmen, he went 2/7 by the 30th. It basically means he’s ready to step up if things get hairy. His younger brother is actually the starter in that position now, though. K. Lijewski (26 years old, playing for HSV) This guy is a machine—he's dropping two or three goals a game like it's nothing. He doesn't even need much possession to get it done, either. His best showing was against Canada where he netted six, though lately, he’s been sitting at about two per match over the last couple of rounds.

They’re seriously stacked on the left side—that's where the real power is, obviously. Bielecki Even when he isn't getting full minutes on the floor, Lowen is still easily our biggest ball hog. It’s actually kind of a relief that his shooting percentage is sitting under 50% (he’s only at 24/55), but man, it’s terrifying that he managed to drop 12 goals over just the last two rounds. He’s definitely got that height advantage down, though. B. Jurecki (G. Lubbecke) is basically splitting minutes with Bielecki here, and honestly, he’s actually played more per game over the last four matches. He’s way more composed and surgical with his finishing, too. He sat out against the Canadians to stay fresh, but man, look at those stats from his last four outings: 16 massive goals, but he also missed 10 times. He's absolutely on fire right now. Jaszka At 26, Fucshe is really holding it down. He’s doing his job perfectly and still manages to drop two or three goals a game, which is honestly pretty impressive. From the outside looking in, he's just this new guy on the scene— Rosinski (25 years old, Kielce) can be absolutely lethal. He tore through the Swedes with 6 goals before the 28th minute, though he went totally cold later, finishing his last two games 0/5 from the field.

The big advantage for the Americans is how they rotate players across every single position regardless of how they're playing. It means you rarely see anyone grinding out more than 40 minutes per game, which keeps their top guys fresh for that final push. On paper, they’ve got some serious talent—a killer pivot, a seasoned right wing, and a phenomenal goalie. Honestly, it doesn't leave us much room to exploit any weaknesses.

stream: stream2watch, balkasport, myp2p, atdhe, roja

So, if we pull this off, we’re coming for the Polish next. Not bad, not bad at all.

So, if Iceland is still up by a goal or two at the 45-minute mark, the Norwegians are basically cooked since they need a four-goal swing to catch up.

67. Oct 29, 2005 Iceland vs Norway 26 - 23
68. Nov 25, 2005 Iceland vs Norway 32 - 23
69. Nov 26, 2005 Iceland vs Norway 33 - 33
70. Nov 27, 2005 Iceland vs Norway 32 - 26
71. Jan 12, 2006 Iceland vs Norway 31 - 30
72. Jan 15, 2006 Norway vs Iceland 32 - 32
73. Feb 02, 2006 Iceland vs Norway 33 - 36
74. Jan 05, 2007 Norway vs Iceland 34 - 22
75. Jan 05, 2008 Norway vs Iceland 28 - 28
76. Jan 13, 2008 Norway vs Iceland 36 - 19
77. Nov 01, 2008 Norway vs Iceland 31 - 31
78. Jun 14, 2009 Iceland vs Norway 34 - 34
http://www.handball.no/Statistikk_La...018&SpillerId=

Group I

4:00 PM Norway vs. Iceland Danish TV 2, BHT 1
6:00 PM Russia vs. Austria DSF combo
8:15 PM USA vs. Denmark Danish TV 2, BHT 1, DSF combo

Group II

4:30 PM Germany vs. Czech Republic ZDF
6:30 PM Spain vs. Canada SLO 2, DSF combo
8:30 PM Poland vs. France DSF combo

+ TV

streams: stream2watch, balkasport, myp2p, atdhe, roja

The Scenarios:

Group I

USA - A win or even just a draw against Denmark puts them through. If they lose, they can still advance if Norway beats Iceland.
Iceland - They move on with a win or a tie against Norway. If they lose, they need to stay within 3 goals and hope the USA takes down Denmark.
Denmark - A win over the USA guarantees advancement. If they draw, they move on provided Norway handles Iceland.
Norway - This one's tough. They only move forward if they crush Iceland by more than 3 goals AND the USA wins against Denmark.

Group II

Poland - Already locked in.
France - A win or a draw against Poland gets them through. If they lose, they’re basically praying that Spain doesn't beat Canada.
Spain - They need to beat Canada and hope Poland pulls an upset against France.

After another routine win against the home team, the Americans from Hell, we’ve got a new squad stepping up to try—and likely fail—at the ultimate handball achievement: actually beating the Americans. The Danes are still probably seeing ghosts from that loss to the Americans back in Beijing when everyone was at full strength. Since they look a bit sluggish this tournament, it’s pretty clear the keys to victory are sitting right in the hands of our guys.

Denmark was staring down an early exit on Tuesday. They were trailing Norway by three with just 15 minutes left on the clock until Mogensen showed up and clawed them back into the game. Honestly, their goalies absolutely dismantled the Norwegians at the end. In the final minute, Hvidt pulls off a massive penalty save against Tvedten, while on the other side, Ege just couldn't find any luck against Eggert.

Scenarios

We play the final match of the day on Thursday, and that’s when everything settles. We might just end up playing a glorified scrimmage if Norway beats Iceland. If that happens, we could even afford to drop one to Denmark. Norway can still sniff a semifinal spot, but only if Iceland wins by more than three goals and we beat Denmark. It’s a long shot they’ll be counting on us to help them out, but hey, not our problem. Naturally, we’d love to see Norway win. If Iceland takes down Norway, it becomes crystal clear that we can't afford to lose to Denmark; even an Iceland vs. Norway draw wouldn't help much, so we really need that win.

1) 1. USA 9, 2-3. Nor, Isl, 4. Den (Norway needs to win by 3+ to advance; Iceland wants a loss within 1-3 goals)
^
USA - Den 1
Nor - Isl 1

2) 1. USA 9, 2. Isl 7, 3. Den 6, 4. Nor 5
^
USA - Den 1
Nor - Isl X

3) 1. USA 9, 2. Isl 8, 3. Den 6, 4. Nor 4
^
USA - Den 1
Nor - Isl 2

4) 1. Den 8, 2. USA 7, 3. Nor 6, 4. Isl 6
^
USA - Den 2
Nor - Isl 1

5) 1. Den 8, 2. Isl 7, 3. USA 7, 4. Nor 5 (Iceland advances on tiebreaker)
^
USA - Den 2
Nor - Isl X

6) 1. Isl 8, 2. Den 8, 3. USA 7, 4. Nor 4
^
USA - Den 2
Nor - Isl 2

7) 1. USA 8, 2. Den 7, 3. Nor 6, 4. Isl 6
^
USA - Den X
Nor - Isl 1

8) 1. USA 8, 2. Isl 7, 3. Den 7, 4. Nor 5
^
USA - Den X
Nor - Isl X

9) 1. Isl 8, 2. USA 8, 3. Den 7, 4. Nor 4
^
USA - Den X
Nor - Isl 2



The Danes, being the Danes, are running around like crazy, constantly rotating players, playing fast through the center, and mostly finishing things off via the wings. At the goal, you’ve still got 33-year-old Hvidt. He hasn't been spectacular until now, but when it mattered most, he stepped up and shut down the Norwegians with 14 saves. His backup, Landin Jacobsen, did a great job against the Russians, pulling off 20 saves. On the left wing, there's the legendary old man Christiansen (37 years old). He can't handle back-to-back games anymore, but he’ll definitely suit up against us since he didn't see a single minute against Norway. He’s still a key player, usually dropping 4 to 6 goals. His sub is Eggert, who handles the penalties. He dropped 7 on the Mexicans, but he’s not quite in the same class as Christiansen—he only managed one field goal against Norway. On the flip side, you have Lindberg again. He hasn't had a brilliant tournament, but it seems he’s showing up at the worst possible moment for us, having scored 5 against Norway. Against the Russians, he went 0 for 3 and was pulled immediately, though he was replaced nicely by Svan Hansen. But against us, he won't be having such an easy time.

Our defense is going to have their work cut out for them against one of the best pivots in the world—Knudsen. The players and coaching staff need to take a page out of the playbook used by the Americans from Austria, Iceland, and Norway; those guys only let him score a single goal total. Unfortunately, our style isn't quite like theirs—we play more like the Mexicans or Russians, whom he hammered for 10 goals. Still, it's clearly doable to shut him down. There's also...Laen plays maybe ten minutes at a time, but man, he scores a goal almost every single game. Then you've got the real threat from the outside—that young kid Hansen from Barcelona. He’s got a literal cannon in his hand; scored about five goals in nearly every match lately, though he does miss a fair amount too. Mogensen is their middle back, Boldsen's successor, and he's got nerves of steel. He dragged them through that game against Norway on Tuesday, but he can be hit or miss—he was pretty invisible during those two matches. On defense, you still have the old veteran Jorgensen holding things down, and he's basically the anchor for this whole American squad. That leaves one wing spot wide open for whoever's feeling it. Usually, that’s Sondergaard Sarup, but even then, he only really shows up every third game. They've also got Mads Nielsen and Spellerberg who aren't exactly lighting it up, plus Kasper Nielsen can jump from defense to offense when needed.

In past matchups, the US has shown they know how to handle that fast-paced American style, and we'll definitely find a way to shut down Hansen. Our offense is good at keeping possession, so if we can just kill off those fast breaks, we should be fine. It’s going to be a huge job for Alilović, though—he's gotta stay locked in on Christiansen and Lindberg.

Anyway, looks like we're going up against Christiansen again 🙄

The Norwegians will sweep the Denmark-Norway-Iceland group (all 6 points) if they crush Iceland by three or more goals and we take care of Denmark.

They kick off at 4:00 PM, then it’s us against the Danes at 8:15 PM, which works out perfectly for our schedule.

Obviously, it’s a long shot for the Norwegians to count on us if Iceland pulls an upset.

The dream scenario? Norway wins big, while we and the Danes just settle for a draw and both move on together. 😁

Kjelling's goal, offensive foul
The Norwegian ridge
Fulani number seven
🤮

Anyway, if Iceland pulls off the win, we'll be playing the Norwegians next. 🤣

Poland's in the semifinals.

Probably France too, since they’ll likely need a win against them in that final round.

Spain's gotta take down the Canadians and just pray the French slip up.

The Polish guys have this semifinal win basically in the bag, yet they’re out here playing around against the Czechs.

Wait, didn't our fans just go absolutely wild and take down everyone on their list a little while ago? 😬

DSF: "the aggressive Americans in the stands..." 🙏

Let's go Norway 🤮

We seriously need a win from the Norwegians, either against Denmark right now or tomorrow against Iceland.

14-5 👋