nimbledriver81 said:blablabla We lost unfairly because the US team didn't even know if they wanted to win or just play it safe to avoid the French team.[/COLOR]
They definitely know we were playing games with them, 😬 but I honestly don't see where the "injustice" comes into play... unless by injustice they mean we were just way better than them. Come on guys, that's just how it is. 😬
boldhound8 said:Was that enough for him to score those 7 goals? Sulić isn't fully there yet. Lacković is on the field, both keepers are set, and Džomba is finally finding his rhythm.🙂
Going 7 for 7 was just pure luck.😬
Honestly, I couldn't care less about Sulić. Now that he's playing more aggressively, I might give him a few minutes if Vori needs some breathing room. Four years ago, it sounded like an incredible plan, but Vori has become a completely different player compared to Sulić. Metlicic is our only real issue; as for Valcica, just send him home—we have no use for him.🙂
He only played about 30 minutes today, so he should be feeling pretty fresh for the quarterfinals. Balic was back on the court for a bit too, though just for 25 minutes. Our biggest concern right now is Metlicic; you can really see the fatigue setting in on him. Another issue is Valcic—he’s just not making enough of an impact up front, unfortunately.
So much for "fairness." After six games and six straight wins—well, maybe excluding that one against Denmark—we’re looking at a math problem. If we win, there’s a 99% chance we face the French (which means facing the home crowd in the semis, probably 15,000 fans and biased refs). If we lose, it’s almost certainly Iceland. Honestly? Screw the calculations. If someone needs rest, let them rest, but if they’re on the court, they should be playing at 100%. We aren't amateurs, and the last thing we need is to start playing safe. Besides, we have a score to settle from that game in Switzerland; back then, their guys like Oeyer and Dinart wouldn't give us an inch, but they won't pull that stunt twice against us... and we already saw what happens when their goalie and defense have an off night in Tunisia.😎There is absolutely no reason to be intimidated. This generation has the grit and the swagger to go 10/10 in this tournament, beat anyone worth mentioning on the world stage, and take home the gold. Like Vanja said, that legendary Swedish squad with Wislander, Olsson, Lovgren, and Svensson might be able to hide behind their reputation, but our guys are on a whole different level.🙂I'm not even going to touch on the matchup with Spain; Davor will be speaking for me tomorrow.😬
nimbledriver81 said:Didn't we play that Frenchman in the semifinals back in 2005? What a gorgeous game that was. 😍 No constant brawling, just beautiful goals... that’s real handball to me, not these thugs out there on the court right now.
Tyler Lewis38 said:What if the matchups were actually arranged like this: France - Tunisia 1 Poland - Canada 2 Germany - Iceland 1 ?If they went down that way 1.Swedes 2.Icelanders 3.Frenchmen 4.Poles
Mark Booth71 said:I'm honestly rooting for us to move on! I think Mexico is going to have a really tough time...
But Mexico doesn't stand a chance😁 and honestly, even Portugal isn't exactly a walk in the park. Seriously though, who did you guys even recruit for the national team? Those two defensive giants? Kapisoda? Who else?
The Danes are predictably leading Russia by three goals at the thirty-minute mark! I honestly think they can walk away with two points here. Here is how our group standings look right now:
USA +16 8 Spain +8 6 Denmark ? 4 Canada -5 4 Russia ? 2 Czech Republic -15 0
My math on this is crystal clear: if we win, we take first place; if we lose, we finish second. Denmark will 110% beat the Czech Republic and secure second. If we beat Spain, we’re first; if we lose to them, we’ll be third. Russia and Canada will play tomorrow to decide fourth place and that final spot in the quarterfinals. The losers and the Czechs are heading home.
We just aren't there yet🙂 but honestly, it just means we're actually playing like a cohesive unit instead of those total morons who let one guy shoot 10 out of 25 per game.🙂
Nobody is intimidated by a Canadian squad like this! Honestly, they’re easily the best pick from that group—even better than Tunisia or Poland. Let's go, Canada! 👋
frozentiger6 said:If they can just manage to pull John out in the quarterfinals, they'll be fine. Their main perimeter threat is Kozlina, and honestly, their outside shooting is pretty terrible.
And what about Rutenka dropping 12 goals against the Swedes?