Handball Euro: USA vs. France 25-27

Edward Allen36 said:If Omeyer is in goal, we might actually have a shot. He isn't the powerhouse he used to be—the guy who used to shut down everything in sight—but from what I can tell, he isn't even the Frenchman's first choice anyway.

man, just wipe your Windows and start over 😂😂😂🤣🤣🙏😂🤣

OT:

We’re basically just walking targets for the French team 🤣

We’re probably about to lose to the Russians...
And finally get all our questions answered, I guess.

Robert Cruz5 said:Now we’re just going to slowly lose to the Russians....
And finally get all our questions answered!

If only. At least maybe we wouldn't go to the World Cup or the Olympics. Maybe someone would actually think to kick those hacks out of USA Handball.

Denmark vs Sweden: A win for the organizers! A little rivalry that pays off big time

wanderingmarlin15 said:Onesta mentioned he believes we’ll run into them again during the tournament.

for third place ☕

Why on earth would the French let the Swedes through? It’s way easier for them to take us down if we happen to make it to the finals 😁, plus we could really wear out Dance ☕ even more than usual.

Jacob Price23 said:http://www.hrsport.net/vijesti/45477...ze-u-mirovinu/

Man, I guess you can't even beat the retirees anymore 🤣

Kenneth Clark18 said:Referees are at it again.

It’s not about the Frenchmen.
It isn’t even about Omeyer.
It’s not some divine intervention from a French or Danish deity—it’s just our own heads.

This generation... they just don't have that WINNER'S MENTALITY. Period. No question about it.

They keep throwing away these absolute brain-dead games, and honestly, it feels like we haven't had a decent sports psychologist on staff in years.

I mean, how do you explain what happened in Chicago back in '09?
How do you explain that total blackout during the '07 run in Germany?
How do you account for that utter nonsense at the Olympics in Beijing?
And what about the game against Mexico? Seriously, Mexico! 🙂
How do you explain the Olympics in London after being up by seven against Denmark?
Or that complete meltdown in Spain where we practically begged to play in a harder round?

There’s no explanation. And there aren't any excuses either. None.

This is a deep-seated, systemic issue. It hasn't just been a bad two months; it's been going on since 2005.

It’s actually pretty straightforward:

1. The French are just better than us.
2. Plus, they have our number.

Our national team is more mobile, which makes their offense slightly less smooth, but we tend to be relatively static. They’re stronger than us, and their physical conditioning is better (I think I read somewhere that they prioritize pure strength and readiness as a core pillar of training in the French league).

You see it as "blackouts," but I don't think that's it. It's more like falling straight into a French trap.

We were actually playing quite well and moving fluidly in the first half. But then what happened? They shut down our rhythm, and we just ran out of gas. Suddenly, we're taking shots from semi-set positions. That's exactly the kind of thing Omeyer lives for. 😉

But the real mistake was failing to shut down their attack in the first half. We pressured them, sure, but we couldn't defend our own goal to keep them off balance.

Kenneth Clark18 said:Kaleb - Štrlek... man, I don't even know where to start there. Kaleb always seemed to have those massive scoring runs when it mattered.

It’s pretty straightforward, really—technically speaking, Štrlek is much sharper, but then you look at Kaleb, and he's definitely got the edge on defense. As for fast breaks? Hmm. Let's just say they're about equal. If you actually sit down and crunch the numbers, maybe somewhere around here...

Jonathan Barnes5 said:Jerko Matulic... someone mentioned Slišković... honestly, the kid played alright, but I guess there’s going to be issues since he left for Celje.. Mandalinic is technically just raw, too. Plus, we have zero depth at center back. It’s not great, especially since he’s mostly there for defense.. Zet is a total disaster.. Bičanić is basically just a stopgap, too. The conclusion is pretty obvious.. let Gobac hang himself, we want the God of handball.

We are seriously thin in three spots:
1. Right wing—now that Laco is gone, we're stuck with Bičanić. He’s a solid player, sure, but that's about it. We have no backup because Slišković is sitting on the bench (he can play both offense and defense, and he isn't afraid to step up, whether it's now in Canada or back when he was with Nexe)
2. Center back—there's no way Duvnjak can pull sixty minutes every single game, and Valčić just isn't built for it. There are better players out there; we just haven't recruited them. Resting Duvnjak on defense isn't an option either, because if you do that, you lose the fast breaks and the transition game.
3. Pivot—Vori was never really a finisher, and lately, he's dropping too many balls. Unfortunately, unless you count Sulić, we don't have a third option.

Personally, I prefer Slišković over Bičanić, but there’s been a clear hierarchy in our national team regarding playing time for quite a while now. Don't expect Slišković to just step in and take Bičanić's spot anytime soon—at least not while Goluža is coaching.
Likewise, Horvat isn't going to see more minutes at the expense of Čupić.
I respect Vori, but I've never been a fan of pivots with his specific style. I think lighter, more agile pivots work much better; they offer more creative ways to get the ball inside and find it easier to draw those 7-meter penalties.
We really should have looked at resting Duvnjak alongside Karačić... we could have tested that during this tournament against the weaker teams if he had been called up.

Jonathan Barnes5 said:Back when they were actually in their prime, the only time we managed to beat them was in Norway... and honestly, that was only because of Dominiković and that one timeout where he called for Narcissa to move to the right side to target his block...

http://youtu.be/xIYHhf3fH9Y

Just thought I'd drop this here so we can all take a little trip down memory lane...

Major props to Gojun, seriously, but let's be real—he just doesn't have that same level of tactical genius that Dominiković had to pull something like that off...

We’ve basically become totally dependent on fast breaks and transition plays, which is honestly pretty scary because it’s just not sustainable... In the first half, while we were running the break, the team actually looked alive, but once we hit the second half, we’d get maybe one or two transition opportunities and then suddenly the whole team just vanishes... That's the cold, hard truth, and we have to admit that at 6-on-6, we're looking like a super limited, uninspired squad that relies way too much on our shooters having a lucky day... We can't even sink an easy one when we have a 6-on-5 advantage, and once the Frenchmen shut down our transition game in the second half, it was pretty much game over...

But saying the French offense was actually good? Man, that's just total nonsense... They went through massive stretches where they couldn't find the back of the net either, it's just that we completely failed to capitalize on their mistakes... That penalty shot by Čupić really broke our momentum for good, and you just can't be taking shots through the legs of Metuzalem Omeyer when it's 23 to 21...

Does anyone happen to have a gif of Goluža losing his mind after calling a timeout?🤣
I mean, he spends half a minute during the break just gesturing wildly, lecturing everyone on where they should be standing and what the play is, only to wait until there are ten seconds left on the clock to suddenly start talking about something else entirely...

Larry Campbell33 said:http://youtu.be/xIYHhf3fH9Y

Just thought we could all take a little trip down memory lane here.

I mean, props to Gojun, I guess, but he just doesn't have that same tactical brain that Dominiković had to pull off something like this.

We’ve basically become addicts when it comes to fast breaks and semi-fast breaks, and honestly, it’s not looking good. In the first half, while we were running the break, the team actually functioned, but once the second half hit? It was maybe one or two transitions and then suddenly, the team just... vanished. That's the reality of it, and we have to face up to it: we're essentially a limited, mindless squad of six playing against seven, totally dependent on whether our perimeter guys happen to have a decent shooting day. We can't even convert an easy 6-on-5. Once the Frenchmen shut down that transition game in the second half, we were pretty much done for.

But saying France played great offensively? Yeah, that's total nonsense. They went through massive stretches where they couldn't find the back of the net either; it's just that we didn't have the sense to capitalize on their mistakes. That penalty shot by Čupić was the nail in the coffin. I mean, you just can't go shooting it right through the legs of Metuzalem Omeyer when it's 23 to 21.

Yeah, "golden era," my foot...
I'll give you this: France definitely wasn't clicking on offense yesterday. Actually, they were practically handing us opportunities toward the end, but we just lacked the IQ to take them. You can't keep Kopljar, Čupić, and Vori out there until the 48th minute when it's obvious they aren't producing anything. You have subs available—that's the whole point—but the real issue seems to be that nobody actually trusts the bench.

I have to admit, I haven't been following this EP much lately. I’ve lost interest in watching a roster full of "similar" players instead of actually "capable" ones.
What would it hurt if Balić was on the court for at least 15 minutes just to give Duvnjak a breather? Just a thought.

Larry Campbell33 said:We have to admit that our 6-on-6 setup is pretty limited and lacks any real creativity. We’re basically riding on whether our perimeter players are having a good shooting day; honestly, we struggled to even convert a simple 6-on-5. The Frenchmen nearly shut down their fast break against us halfway through the second half.

But claiming that France had a great offensive performance is just nonsense. They also went through massive stretches where they couldn't find the back of the net—it's just that we didn't know how to capitalize on those lapses. That penalty shot by Čupić was essentially the turning point; you just can't afford to shoot it right through the legs of Metuzalem Omeyer when it's 23-21.

Exactly. No clever crossovers, no penetrations, and the pivot seems like a foreign concept to us.
Our defense is decent enough (we didn't let them separate too easily when they moved to a 3-on-4), but the offense is a massive headache. Every time we managed to get the upper hand, it was because our shooters were clicking—the first half was a perfect example, thanks to Kopljar’s efficiency.
If we had maintained the rhythm we used to dismantle them in the first half, I think we would have walked away with the win, hands down. But once the second half rolled around, I saw exactly where this was heading; our offense completely stalled out, and we just got knocked sideways.
In the first half, they were scoring almost everything through pure brute force. I'm not quite sure why we didn't push harder then to counter that.
So, the summary is this: in the first half, they beat us when they were attacking, and in the second, they beat us while they were defending.

It was a complete beatdown, plain and simple.

And I can't help but notice how protected Accambray was again; it's almost as if Tučkin, Dušebajev, Andersson, Richardson, and LeBron James were all rolled into one. 😕
I won't even mention Balić, since he didn't really have much impact.

Jacob Johnson70 said:I have to be honest, I haven't been following this NBA tournament very closely. Honestly, watching these "similar" players get called up to the national team instead of the actually "capable" ones just turned my stomach...
What would be the harm in having Ivano Balić on the roster to give Domagoj Duvnjak a much-needed breather for at least 15 minutes? Just throwing that out there as an example...

I'm right there with you. As long as Gobac and those other random guys are playing, I'll be rooting for us to get knocked out of every single championship...

Goluza is a total moron—he doesn't even know how to call a timeout properly. During those breaks, he just dictates ONE SINGLE play like: "Kopljar, stay right there; Bič and Duvnjak, cross paths; Vori, set a block."

For God's sake, if that's how timeouts are handled, we might as well not have them at all.

I get that people find Gobac, Goluza, and the rest of that crew incredibly frustrating, but rooting for us to just fail? I don't get it.

Sent from my iPhone

If we actually had any sense, we would've hired Dominiković to call the timeouts, just like how the French have Didij calling their defensive sets. I wouldn't be surprised if once he retires, they throw Omeyer into the coaching staff, if nothing else just to keep us on our toes 😁