Handball Euro: USA vs. France 25-27

A lot of this will clear up after the next round when Sweden takes on Poland. If it were just one cycle and the French lost by two, would we be out too, or am I missing something? Honestly, today's loss makes no sense to me. It was a bizarre game. I think, looking at the big picture, we have a serious issue with grit.

Ryan Vaughn7 said:And why on earth would they send us home early? It's not like we're some kind of threat to them, right?

I mean, they’re definitely a much bigger challenge than the Swedes, who haven't managed to beat them since back in the last century.

graniteotter6 said:Look, man—it’s always the same story when we drop a game to them. They always offer us an opening, yet we never take it; we can never claw our way back from a deficit against this squad. When we actually win, we control the tempo the whole way. We've seen this exact script play out far too many times.

Whatever—isn't it better to lose now than in the semifinals? ☕.

For God's sake, someone needs to string a few solid performances together. Domagoj Duvnjak was a disaster tonight, and Buntić wasn't exactly great either—though he didn't see much floor time. Kopljar was a wreck yesterday, even if he's killing it tonight. Then there's Čupić, who is predictably terrible against top-tier teams. Honestly, only Štrlek is playing at the right level. Bičanić is just hit or miss—one good game, one bad one. 🙂

And frankly, Čosić is starting to get on my nerves—since when does fatigue become an issue during the first game of the second round? 🙂.

The French always seem to stumble in at least one game during the tournament. And that was it, right against the Swedes.

Samuel Baker3, why on earth would the French let that Swede slip through with just a one-point loss?

It’s not like they’re actually all that intimidating—honestly, neither are we. If we had to play them next, I guess we’d just be more exhausted by then.

So, like I said, we’re losing 🙄
Look, first half—the refs totally screwed us. They called an early stoppage on us while letting the Frenchmen slide way too long, and honestly? It just killed our momentum. We actually earned the lead, but then we spiraled into this endless tunnel of self-doubt... we basically beat ourselves at this point.
And they bring in Dance to ref? Please. It’s obvious they don't want those Frenchmen facing anyone but us in the semifinals 🙄
I haven't caught a Dance game yet, but let's be real, it’s always just as frustrating when they're involved
Whatever, the main thing is that if we even make it to the finals against the French, we can't blow it. We usually split these things anyway—win one, lose one 😉

Everyone seems to assume we'll be facing the Pole or the Russian next.🙂

The Frenchmen actually had a harder time against the Pole than they did against us.

The French are going to dominate this whole thing. You can just tell they showed up way more prepared for this tournament than they have in years past. It looks like Karabatić has finally leveled up his game significantly compared to how he's played over the last couple of seasons.

If they actually had Barachet on the roster, I’d bet my life savings they’d be walking away with the gold.

Watching Porte play right wing is honestly just a tragicomedy at this point.

electricorca112 said:They’re definitely much bigger than the Swedes, who haven't beaten them since the last century, I guess.

They barely managed to beat the Swedes in New York City.

Man, I really thought that intense look on Omeyer's face and those clenched fists were just relics of a bad past. Who knows how many times our guys have completely folded under that kind of pressure. And the worst part? Half their defense comes from total chaos, yet somehow our squad still manages to let it mess with their heads.

In my book, the French are always the favorites whenever they step on the court against us. No matter how many different versions of Čosić try to fire up the crowd or hunt for momentum during one of our random wins, those French players are basically professors compared to us.

The only difference between today and our usual matchups against the French is that they started with a goalie who was absolutely clueless—hitting 1/14 on saves—while Kopljar played a half that he usually only pulls off once every thirty games. By the second half, the magic just evaporated; it turned into that same old routine where the French just keep us at arm's length.

Man, I am so done with Musk and those absolutely brainless bans he keeps pulling.

Jonathan Barnes5 said:Sure, but they'll end up heading to the dance if the circle closes, because then Sweden would have the win over them and take first place...

Not quite!
It's going to look like this:
1. France +1
2. Sweden 0
3. USA -1

Paul Jones7 said:I mean, why on earth would the French let Sweden slip through by just a single point?

The truth? They aren't even that scary. And honestly, neither are we. If we had to play them right now, the only difference would be that we'd be even more exhausted than they are.

Exactly—it’s just not their style to sink that low...

mellowbear49 said:...
Omeyer can kiss my ass! Honestly, I would’ve made that save too!!!

exactly

A complete and utter disaster.

I’ve finally come to the conclusion that Kopljar is the one to blame here. He essentially left the goalie hanging on the D, expecting him to make a save instead of letting Omeyer break through.