Handball Euro: USA vs. France 25-27

mellowsurfer9 said:but how likely is it that everything just bounces off them? I mean, I don't recall us playing this poorly before, but why does it always have to be a combination of bad play and zero luck? It's like déjà vu.

It's always bad luck. Everything just misses. It’s completely incomprehensible. When the universe decides you aren't meant to win, you simply aren't. It's always Tony Parker.

The worst part, if I'm not mistaken, is that we gave the Swedes the final possession to just stroll in and score, and now we can't even agree on who takes the last shot. It's pathetic.

Anyway, the Golden State Warriors are pros at this kind of math—they'll call a timeout with 5 seconds left when they're up by 9 just to tweak the point spread.😁

Daniel Cooper40 said:If we had just secured that goal, those Frenchmen wouldn't have any room to manipulate the outcome against the Swedish woman.

The way things look, the French will let the Swede win by a single point just to secure first place and dodge a matchup with Dance, effectively sending us packing.

Exactly. It’s hard to claim there was a one-point margin unless they shook hands on it before tip-off. 🙂
If we had blown it by 5 or 6 points today, we would have been out already.

I honestly think calling that timeout was the right move. When you're sitting there with just a one-point lead, we’re still effectively in control of our own destiny. But if that margin drops to two, things get messy—you could see the French lose by a single point to an Austrian team, for instance, which might push them into overtime and throw our whole bracket into chaos. We could end up getting knocked out of the tournament entirely despite having managed to pull off wins against the Poles and the Russians.

Defensive rebounds really come down to pure concentration and making sure everyone is properly positioned. For instance, look at how we end up shorthanded on the boards because a player isn't even tracking their man or the ball, but instead starts sprinting toward the offensive end the second a shot goes up.

Daniel Cooper40 said:If we had just scored that goal, the French wouldn't be able to rig the outcome against the Swedish woman.

The way it looks, the French will let the Swedes win by one point so they can slide into first place and dodge Dance, while we get sent home.

And that’s exactly what's going to happen, because I guess the French don't give a damn about playing fair.

Whatever, I guess we'll just have to root for our Polish brothers.

rustywalker1 said:we sent them to the desert in the Middle East
but they still grabbed gold at the Olympics
we sent them back out to the desert in Spain
yet here they are, playing in the finals

🙏

Forget all this talk about letting Sweden in; it’s clearly not happening. Now I guess I'll have to root for the Poles, even though I already wrote them off. 🤣

Doesn't matter, we're taking down the Russians.

Daniel Cooper40 said:It’s simple. The French let the Swede win by just one point so they can slide into the next round as the top seed and dodge Dance. Meanwhile, we get sent packing.

But why would they send us home? I mean, are we really such a threat to them?

Terry Rodriguez41 said:So they're up 15-12 with a man advantage, let in two quick goals to the Poles, and then everything just falls apart... who would've thought? I guess they got spooked when they realized they actually had a shot at beating those powerhouse Frenchmen...

🤮

That’s just how our games go.

If the Swedes end up beating the French by just a single point, we’re out. It doesn't even matter if we absolutely crushed the Russians and the Poles earlier.

Anyone who caught the end of that Poland vs. Russia game knows exactly how those two teams played with the Mexicans, and you know what I'm talking about. 🙄

At this point, our fate isn't even in our own hands anymore, all because of that mess at the end of the game against Sweden where we could have easily pulled off a win by three. 🙂

Kenneth Clark18 said:which is likely what will happen, given that those Frenchmen couldn't care less about playing fair.

It looks like we'll just have to pull for our Polish allies instead.

True, but if the circle closes, they might end up dancing through the finals since the Swedes would clinch a win over them and take first place.

George Robinson43 said:Yeah. It’s just hard to call them out on it—unless they basically shake hands on it before the game even starts. 🙂
If we had blown a 5 or 6 point lead today, we would have been completely screwed.

A two-point win works just fine for them too. Then Sweden takes first place.

Ryan Vaughn7 said:It’s just always bad luck, I guess. Everything seems to bounce off them, and it's just totally incomprehensible. Like, if things aren't going your way, they just won't go your way—it's always Omeyer.

I honestly can't wrap my head around how we can play so incredibly poorly that we manage to blow every single opportunity we get.

Ryan Vaughn7 said:And why would they send us home? Like, are we actually some kind of threat or something?

🤣 😍

electricorca112 said:If Sweden beats France by exactly one point, we’re out—regardless of whether we absolutely crushed the Russians and Poles.

You know when the Swedes beat the Frenchmen? Never. ☕

Playing games with the numbers? Oh, please... not again. 😢((

electricorca112 said:If Sweden beats France by exactly one point, we’re out, even if we totally crushed the Russians and Poles.

Anyone who watched the end of the Poland vs. Russia game knows how they played with those Mexicans. You know what I mean. 🙄

We basically don't have any control over our own fate anymore, thanks to that mess at the end of the Sweden game where we could've won by three. 🙂

But what about a two-point win?

In that scenario, Sweden would be at 1
France at 0
And us at -1

Still out, sure, but at least France wouldn't be in first. They'll take that -1 just to stay on top.

If we had managed to hang onto that 25:26 scoreline, the USA would be sitting pretty with just two wins needed to lock in a spot in the semifinals. But because of how things shook out, our only lifeline left is if Poland manages to scrape a point—or better yet, take the whole game—from Sweden. If that happens, we’d end up in a head-to-head showdown with the Poles to decide who actually moves on to the semis.

The odds of that playing out are slim, but let's just wait and see what happens tomorrow...

Ryan Vaughn7 said:And why on earth would they send us home? Like, are we suddenly some kind of problem for them?

🤣

I haven't seen any posts from feenian yet. Maybe they just haven't weighed in. [Username] says:
Maybe they'll head to the dance if the circle closes, since I guess the Swedes will have that win over them and take first place.

That’s fine too, I suppose. Unless Iceland pulls off some massive upset, though I highly doubt that'll happen.

But then again, there’s another side to this story.

Maybe we'll end up facing the Russians. I guess.
The French absolutely crushed the Belarusians.
The Poles might actually pull off an upset against the Swedes. Maybe.

In the final round, the Poles and I are playing for direct qualification. I guess.

Another heartbreaking loss for Golužin!!!

What an absolute disaster of a game plan!!!

How long is Čupić going to keep blowing these massive games?!

Does he even realize what happens when Kopljar hits the floor?

Why on earth is Vuković even on this roster?

Is Slišković ever going to get a real shot—or does he actually have to play for the Chicago Bulls first just to be noticed?!

Omeyer’s defense was a total joke! I could’ve made better plays than that myself!!!