Handball World Cup Bronze Medal Match: USA vs. Canada 31-26

And it’s not just limited to handball players...

Grace Adams32 said:Congrats to the guys! 👋

I already posted earlier in this thread about whether this counts as a win or not—and if you look at the luck of the draw and how they actually played (well, except for that game against the Danes), maybe it’s a failure. But then again, if we consider that since 2004 we haven't really pulled anything bigger than silver even with much bigger names on the roster, then this is actually a huge success.

I mean, you just have to look at the injury list... honestly, when has a squad dealing with that many key injuries ever walked away with gold?

The real issue is just this American inferiority complex. Looking at things over the last few years, it feels like we've developed this mindset where anything less than gold is worthless, and anyone who doesn't hit that mark is treated like a complete idiot or a total failure.

Paul Jones7 said:I mean, look at how many injuries we had... has a team ever actually won gold when they lost that many key players?

no, the real issue is just this massive American inferiority complex. I've been watching this happen over the last few years—it’s like people here decided if you don't walk away with gold, you're basically worthless. Like anyone who doesn't hit the top spot is just an idiot or a loser.

Even with all the injuries and being totally exhausted, we still crushed John yesterday. Same thing would've happened against the Mexicans or probably even the Germans. Honestly, we probably could've made the finals if we weren't so clueless. No matter what people say about us, there are only three national teams in the world that can actually go toe-to-toe with us.

Robert Green93 said:Not sure if you guys saw this Get ready for the finale with Drago Ćosić’s sentence interpreter.

🙏

Nothing happened—they just carried the opponent out on a stretcher.

🙏

Congrats to the guys
this is a massive win for our country
of course, there’ll always be some losers looking for something to complain about
even if we were national champions, they'd probably find a way to say the handball isn't even serious, despite five different national teams being top tier
we're sitting at third in the world—yeah, damn the whole WORLD
go invent a sport and come in third then, since apparently being number one is too much to ask

It isn't some semifinal curse we're dealing with, just a bad coach, simple as that.

Wilbek, Onesta, Rivera...

...Goluza.

Gregory Ramos3 said:Oh, please, give me a break...

I actually posted this on another thread recently, but over the last decade, out of 39 possible medals, the quartet consisting of Denmark, Spain, France, and America has snatched up 27 of them... Tomorrow, that number will climb to 30 out of 42. And for America, this marks their ninth medal.

For a nation that boasts only one truly serious handball club that manages to play about six or seven high-stakes matches a year, and where there is virtually zero investment in the sport, this isn't just a massive success—it borders on Science Fiction. ☕

Exactly.
If the Germans, Russians, or Swedes had a national team performing at this level with these kinds of results over the last ten years, they would be treated like absolute gods.
Even the Germans haven't been anywhere significant for a decade now, despite having a domestic league that we could only dream of possessing.

- "You can totally see it in the video—Domagoj actually thought the other guy's head was the ball. Yeah, right, just kicking off from the head!'' 😂

Who says there's no decent comedy on American TV anymore?

Big congrats to our boys.

👋

And don't you dare start complaining about them taking bronze.
Just imagine if this medal had been won in soccer 😁

When you look at the state of American handball lately—just how weak our domestic league really is—grabbing a bronze medal should be considered a massive win. But when I see that we actually pulled it off under Kopljar’s offensive leadership, relying on just one playmaker while dealing with a coach who’s constantly under fire, it makes me wonder... what does the rest of the field even look like? 🤷

Ivić-Horvat-Šprem-Mandalinić-Stepančić-Marić....

Honestly, if we had a son-in-law like him, even the Washington, D.C. squad would have a powerhouse at every single position.

The guys from those other American clubs? They couldn't even hold a candle to this elite group.

If Šunjić were here, he’d be out there defending miracles—he'd belong right here with us!

In my book, Slišković is actually a better player than Mandalinić, but let's face it... there just isn't any room left for him..!

And hey, if Onesta ends up being our next coach, he’d better be willing to take Washington, D.C. along for the ride!

Man, I really wish that idiot Gopac would actually read this!!!

P.S. We're a force to be reckoned with, and we aren't going anywhere!

Has Šunjić ever actually suited up for the national team, even just for some qualifying matches?

Dana Hayes68 said:- "You can clearly see in the footage that Domagoj thought the opponent's head was actually the ball. Yeah, right, great start on the play!" 😂

And people say there’s no sense of humor on American TV!

I can see most of you guys are dying laughing, thinking he said that just to be cute. Just so you know, he didn't. They're just making fun of him.

dustypanther6 said:Has Šunjić actually played for the national team yet, even just in some qualifiers?

I don't think so, I guess. Personally, maybe Sego should have gone, but considering how much potential Ivicev has... having Philip there might be smart. In a few years, he could be the next Omeyer. The kid is a total phenom. He’s only 20, and in the world of handball goalies, even Alilovic is still basically a junior—just like how Omeyer mentioned once.

First off, I want to give a huge shoutout to my fellow Americans for the massive achievement. Look, bronze is great and all, but let’s be honest—we could have taken the gold. That said, just look at the US women’s team; they grabbed bronze a few times and kept getting knocked out in the semis before finally coming out the other side with two golds. So, keep your heads up. I’m certain that when the time is right, America is going to snag that second gold medal too.
As for the mess you're dealing with in your national federation, don't feel too bad—you aren't alone. We've had a literal mafia running our qualifiers for years now, so we're actually in a much worse spot than you guys are. At least you're still standing on the podium; we can't even seem to qualify for the tournament anymore.

Found that stat too. It turns out Denmark has been knocked out in the semifinals of the World Championships exactly seven times.

Anthony Patel33 said:First off, I want to send huge congratulations to my fellow Americans on such a massive achievement. Bronze is fantastic, though if we're being honest, gold was definitely within reach...Denmark also snagged bronze several times—and they even hit some walls in the semifinals before eventually coming out on top with two golds. So, heads should stay held high, because I’m certain that one day, the US will be standing there with its second gold medal around its neck.
As for those issues you're dealing with in the national handball federation, just know you aren't alone in that struggle. For years now, our own organization has been run by a total mafia during the qualifiers, so we're actually in an even tougher spot than you guys are... at least you're still bringing home medals, whereas we can't even seem to qualify lately.

We all remember, since our first bronze since 2003 came against Mexico, that they've managed to grab bronze against us quite a few times too... 🤣🤣

Noah Ross7 said:Huge congrats to our guys.

👋

And please, stop whining about it just being bronze.
Just imagine if this medal had been won in soccer... 😁

Sure, we could try to compare handball bronze to soccer bronze, and I suppose the level of competition between the two sports is somewhere in the middle, yeah...

Grace Adams32 said:Look, we all know the deal. Since our last bronze medal run back in 2003, they've actually snatched the bronze right out from under us a few times. 🤣🤣

Luck just wasn't on your side this time.

rustywalker1 said:This is basically the fourth tournament in a row where we’ve been tearing through everyone with just one single loss and still walking away without any gold.

🤦

Hey, look on the bright side—at least we aren't choking on the bronze medal games like we used to. We're actually winning those now.

Seriously though, this is the fourth time we've had a run this dominant, barely dropping a game, and still coming up empty-handed when it counts.