European Championship: America vs France 25:27

This should be available here:

http://firstrownow.eu/sport/handball.html

There are a few links on this thread, so go ahead and check 😉

Samuel Baker3 said:If we’re being serious about this tournament—which I haven't been able to follow much because life just keeps getting in the way—I honestly think we have a shot at the semifinals.

Anything can happen in a semifinal. It’s just one game, and even if we end up facing Hip Hop, they won't exactly be feeling themselves either.

Yeah, for sure, I’m already banking on us making the semis. I mean, I think the Swedes are probably the best of all those teams ranked "below" the top tier, and we actually managed to beat them. If we play with enough heart, find our rhythm, and maybe catch an opponent having an off night, we could even go for the title. There's a chance, I guess, though realistically it's pretty slim. We’d basically have to play way above our actual skill level—like, everyone on the roster would need to play like an absolute champion at the exact same time, rather than someone just having a mediocre or "off" day.

I wouldn't say Sweden had a truly terrible night. Sure, they were a bit sluggish on offense during parts of the game—they definitely could have been sharper there—but overall, they played pretty solid, and their goalie was clearly in the zone. If the Swedes play at their peak and France doesn't bring their A-game, I think they can absolutely make it out of this group. They aren't lagging as far behind as people think.

Daniel Cooper40 said:I wouldn't say Sweden had a truly terrible night—it’s true they looked a bit sluggish on offense for parts of the game (they definitely could have been sharper there), but overall they played pretty well, and their goalie was actually in decent shape. I think the Swedes can definitely make it out of this group if they play at their peak and France doesn't show up with everything they've got... honestly, I don't think the gap between them isn't as huge as people think.

I mean, I agree regarding how strong the Swedes are. But France... man, I'm a little worried. They just seem to have an extra gear that they haven't even needed to tap into yet. Nobody else in this group has really threatened them with a relaxed style of play. I caught that game against the Americans, and I had this feeling that if they actually wanted to, they could have held them under 20 points. It just wasn't necessary, I guess.

Anyway, everything should be a lot clearer after tonight since they'll finally be playing at full strength. If their defense is actually as shaky as it looks, we might just run all over them.

Today is the day Klay Thompson finally steps up. (Or he'll just completely blow it 😁, though I’m holding out hope for the former)

A stream, a bit deeper

Patrick Bailey4 said:Deep water, maybe even deeper

Just don't want us drowning out here 😁

Morgan Moore6 said:Klay Thompson is gonna kill it today. (Or just totally blow it.) 😁I'm actually feeling good about this first one—fingers crossed.

🤣 👍

And they're being refereed by guys from Sweden. Interesting. ☕

Taremo.

Klay Thompson ☕

Klay Thompson's clientele 🤣

Klay Thompson ☕

The little pest is back, where have you been hiding, darling? What on earth is this... 😍

That old Frenchman Abalo, ha...

A stubborn nation, perhaps even more so than one plagued by inbreeding.

Come on, let's go, Metlicic! 🤣 🙂

A whole lot of scoring so far, I guess.

I’m starting to really lose faith in these refs

They called a penalty on the French side because someone stepped out of bounds before Fernandez even hit the crease—it was such a soft call. They didn't bother calling a blatant foul on the French players during our fast break earlier, but then they turn around and gift us a charge based on contact that felt like something you'd see in a middle school gym.div>

The Frenchman hasn't made a single save yet 🤣

it works fine—we've got them right here