Our guys have been playing a bit flat throughout this whole tournament. They’re still holding their own, don't get me wrong—it's not like they're losing—but I’d love to see them actually firing on all cylinders for once.
Mexico is playing out of their minds right now. Seriously, props to them, you can tell they really want it.
Sure, you guys might be better than Team USA, but let’s be real—you haven't actually managed to beat us yet, and you’ve had two solid chances to do it just in the last couple of months.
Look, you're persistent, but surely you can see this isn't the squad at 100%.
We saw their ceiling back in Melbourne.
I’m no water polo expert, but from what I gather, our defense is solid while the offense is just stalling. Hopefully, they'll find their rhythm by the Olympics. Plus, we've got injuries to deal with—Boskovic and Barac aren't sitting out for no reason. Ratko has his own philosophy; I'd bet anything he's timing our peak specifically for the Olympics. We made the semifinals again, it's just that raw talent decided the game in those clutch moments.
Look, we actually had the upper hand there; we were arguably better by three or five goals. During that 7-4 stretch, first Mile hits the post on an open net—the keeper and Tempesti totally caught him off guard at the six-yard box—and then immediately after, Djogas misses a sitter. He’s face-to-face with the keeper and just blasts it, God knows why. I would've saved that one too.
On the flip side, right after those two misses, the Italians score. Their defender takes a long shot, the ball hits the water, clips the bar, bounces off the bar, hits Vicanov in the back, and trickles in behind him.
If we're being honest, if Mile or Theo had buried those, there’s no way these guys would have even been within one goal of us.
That said, I agree we need to put in a lot more effort in our game.
But think about this: the Greeks are playing at 120%. They're known for being that squad that gets hyper-focused when the score is tight and absolutely bites when the job is done. Meanwhile, we’re playing at half capacity, and we still can't pull anything away from the Greeks besides a draw. Today, the defenders gave it their all, while we played at half speed—maybe slightly more than half—and ended up with a positive result anyway.
Just a year and a half ago, the Greeks and Italians were beating us without breaking a sweat.
Roger Allen3 said:Oh sure, according to rapidbison42, there are only ten legends in all of sports history, and everyone else is just a total loser...
The pool was basically overflowing with losers today... you just have to get used to it. It’s annoying at first, I guess, but eventually, it becomes kind of charming 😁 how after every single game, people start obsessing over the losers. No matter the sport, it's always "loser, loser, loser." Apparently, I should view rapidbison42 as some sort of Hercules.🙂
Look, he's an impulsive guy. You can't really hold it against him.
They aren't losers, but man, something just feels off to me... having those massive dead zones in the game, where we go ten minutes without a single shot on goal, is brutal. That’s when it hurts most because we're playing without any real bite. I look at kids like Jokovica or Buslja, and it seems like they're trying too hard to play "methodical" at certain points 🙄 instead of just causing absolute chaos and getting aggressive. Seriously, what does a 22-year-old know about "playing with composure"?
Some things are just genuinely confusing to me.
The defense is definitely solid—Buric and Buslje are doing a great job there. The crossing is decent (though Hinic feels a little soft to my eyes, if I'm being honest), but the attacking wingers? They're a disaster. Boskovic manages somehow, but the rest of them act like they're invisible. You barely notice Vrdoljak or Barac once or twice a match, usually just when they score that one goal or miss a sitter. The wingers are pretty much hit-or-miss. Sure, they'll bag a couple of goals, but the stuff Djogas misses is honestly a joke. He tries these flashy moves sometimes—what is he actually thinking?
Alright, I think Bolton is exaggerating just a little bit here. 😁 It’s not like the Italians beat themselves; our defense is playing at an elite level—honestly, maybe the best in the world right now—but we still haven't figured out how to score.
Come on, guys, let's be real. If you can't manage to close out a game when it's right there in front of you, you might as well just pack your bags now and get ready for those damn Olympics.
We're heading into the matchup against Mexico, and honestly, anything can happen.
Just look at Udovicic—the guy looks completely lost. As usual, Sapic folded the moment things got intense. Vujasinovic is the only one actually playing.
So what if the Spaniards beat the Canadians? We’ve already locked in our spot in the quarterfinals, while they're out there fighting just to stay alive. One of them is going home.