Handball Euro: USA vs. Spain - Final Score 22:24

Raymond Palmer8 said:I have no clue what you mean by that reaction, but Balić was clearly the weakest link today.
If I were the coach—which I'm obviously not—I’d stick to the rule of not changing horses mid-stream. As long as we're pulling ahead or at least holding our ground, I’m keeping the same lineup in, maybe rotating them once in a blue moon.
Swapping out your playmaker and watching your lead evaporate right before your eyes? That's just plain stupid.
It wasn't about Balić; he was just the scapegoat.

My "reaction" means Duvnjak is playing like he doesn't give a damn, which forces Balić to try and salvage whatever's left of this mess. And yeah, even if he had his worst game of the tournament, his plays were still better than anything Duvnjak produced.

And don't even get me started on whether Balić belongs on the national team... there's no point in talking about it because the level of communication on this subforum is absolutely pathetic. People flip-flop constantly whenever we lose a single game. Yesterday, everyone was obsessing over the Mexico-USA final, chanting Balić's name like he was some hero saving us against Canada and Iceland from the bench. Fast forward to today, and suddenly we're all trash, fighting for 7th place, and claiming Balić and Vori have no business being on the roster.🙏 Seriously... typical Americans!🙏

I mean, I honestly can't believe how much Ivan Balić has been carrying this entire team on his back over the last three games. It’s incredible. But let's be real... there were so many other matches where he basically won it single-handedly while playing through pure agony—broken ribs, losing teeth, you name it. He's been through the wringer...
Today, though? He coughs up three turnovers, gives away a couple of seven-meter penalties, and picks up some suspensions. Honestly, they should just publicly hang him out to dry right in front of City Hall. Or better yet, give him a buzz cut and scrub those tattoos off with a wire brush. What is this, some kind of Wild West showdown? Is this really how we play things now? 🙄

Look, yeah, he totally blew it today, but a little bit of objectivity wouldn't hurt anyone...

The people calling for Balić to be sent back home... they aren't playing fair, that's for sure.

The absolute downfall of the US team was that championship game against the Frenchies—just ask Ivan Balić how many points he dropped back then... Man, I’d love to just slap him twice for that performance... Seriously though, his attitude is honestly a joke. What an absolute egoist... instead of just taking a seat on the bench and staying out when he's acting all humble by saying "I don't need much playing time," his massive ego just forces him to play more and more just to prove he's the greatest... and now look, here come the French again...
so let's see what happens... sure, he can have one bad game, but that mindset? He's such a moron for playing like that in the quarterfinals... guys like Deba, Drle, and Žinga are nothing compared to him...

The USA-Mexico final... honestly, with about 3,000,000 technical errors happening on the court, who knows which side actually makes it through to become the champions of America?
The handball throughout this whole tournament has just been... I don't know, subpar. It feels like everyone is playing like they're made of wood.

Let’s be honest, most people in this thread aren't playing fair.

The level of nonsense being posted here is just pathetic.

George Chavez8 said:The absolute downfall of the team was that championship game against the Frenchmen in the big city; just ask Ivan Balić how many points he dropped there... I’d love to just throw a couple of burgers at him... Man, his whole attitude is just ridiculous, such a total egoist... Instead of just sitting on the bench and staying out when he's acting all humble by saying things like "oh, I'll just take some minutes away from Duvnjak," he just pushes himself because of his ego, trying to prove he's the best... and now here we go again with the French team...
so let's see... he can have one bad game, sure, but that attitude... what an idiot during the quarterfinals... Deba, Drle, and Žinga don't even compare to him...

Hey buddy, how is he forcing himself into the lineup if we actually have a coach on the bench? Seriously, how? Or is our coach useless? Because if the coach is useless, then we have way bigger problems than Ivan.🙄

I guess I won't get too deep into this because you guys are honestly starting to get on my nerves. Like boldhound8 said, we're either at the peak of Everest or we're at rock bottom—there's no middle ground. But the main thing is, just try to be objective for once, please.

Congrats to the Spaniards for taking the win we basically handed them on a silver platter. Now the US team faces France, who might look weaker on paper right now, but knowing how much our squad tends to overthink playing against the French, an upset wouldn't surprise me... We'll end up exactly where we deserve to be, whether that's celebrating or mourning a loss. Honestly, I'm not going to stress myself out over a negative outcome. You guys have already cost me more peace of mind than you're worth, even if you go on to win 67 consecutive gold medals...

Back to the referee talk again 🤣

Americans have always had this mindset where they find someone else to blame for everything, and honestly, that's exactly why we end up stuck right where we are.
It wasn't some official making a bad call on a player; it was actually Mark Kopljar.
If the refs were really trying to tip the scales in favor of the Spanish side, you wouldn't see them tossing a Spaniard out of the game just four minutes before the buzzer for a foul on Balić.
In my view, the officiating during this match was actually pretty fair, without any obvious leaning toward one team or the other.

analoggull4 said:Those people demanding that Balić be sent back home aren't exactly playing fair themselves...

How on earth am I expected to hold back my criticism of a man who performed so catastrophically? It was as if he had just stumbled out of a strip club and wandered straight onto the court.

He has carried us through many battles before, but today was simply not the day for such a performance.

If Balić truly played as poorly as he did during this game—and let’s be honest, he did—then I say he deserves to be publicly torn apart; how can we tolerate such a star behaving this way?

Perhaps he should take a page out of Moamer Ilić's book and learn how to play like a programmed machine, devoid of those amateurish and foolish mistakes. 🤣

analoggull4 said:The folks demanding they send Balić back home aren't exactly playing fair here...

It’s funny how they were all acting like he was some kind of god when he carried us against Iceland and won that game, right?

John is a pure genius—it’s not for nothing he was named the greatest handball player ever. Man, he has one mediocre game and people act like he's finished. Where did all those MVP awards go that he basically earned single-handedly? ????

All we have left is the matchup against France, so I'm really hoping John makes up for all this noise today...

Brian Campbell36 said:How could I not be critical of a guy who played such a disastrous game? It was as if he walked straight out of a strip club and onto the court.

He has carried us through many tough moments before, but today was simply not his day.

In my opinion, if Balić truly performed that poorly—and let's be honest, he really did—he deserves some serious public scrutiny. How can you call someone a star when they play like that?

He should take a page out of Moamer Ilić's book and learn how to play like a disciplined machine, without those amateurish, senseless mistakes. 🤣

Fine, let’s go ahead and tear John apart then. But if we're going to start pointing fingers, shouldn't we deal with the real culprits—Kopljar and Duvnjak—first? Everything is falling apart right now, for goodness' sake. Just give me a red card already.

Balić definitely needs to be on the floor, and honestly, he should be the focal point of the offense. But I’ve noticed he plays way better when the game is winding down and things get intense. Lately, whenever he comes off the bench to close out a lead, he just makes too many unforced errors. He’s got this nonchalant attitude, like he couldn't care less about the stakes. If he had blown those first couple of shots early on, the coach should have pulled him to catch his breath and brought him back around the 45 or 50-minute mark. Instead, they leave Štreleka and Laco in there. How is Čupić supposed to grind through an entire game without a breather while the coach pulls Štreleka to sub in what is objectively the worst American player in the league right now?