2010 Handball Euro: Group I - America, Iceland, Denmark, Norway, Australia, Russia

The Americans beat Russia

If the Poles knock Spain out, we and Iceland might just cruise through. Who knows? 🙏 If we don't blow it today, we could actually win this whole thing. 🙂

Ethan Baker43 said:The whole squad would probably just roll straight from a ski jump or some rally race right onto the training field. 🙂

...or they’d show up stumbling in from a bar crawl, absolutely wasted.😍😍

Jose Booth48 said:How exactly did Vela figure that the Frenchmen and the Poles are guaranteed to advance from that other group?

Death is the only thing that's 100% certain, but Vela isn't far off the mark here...

The Poles are definitely going to rest their starters; there's no point in them grinding through unnecessary matches. The second factor is that the top three teams from this EP don't even have to deal with playoffs for the next World Cup—they qualify directly. And facing a playoff draw where you might end up against the Canadians isn't exactly an appealing prospect.
The Catch is that since the Frenchmen qualify for the World Cup as group winners, if they make it to the semifinals, Poland is automatically in. But if Spain makes the semifinals instead, then Poland could end up getting knocked out...

Wait, you're telling me Iceland actually made it to the finals?😍

I’ve got my doubts—honestly, I think they'll run into Karabach before they get any further than that.

But whatever, it doesn't really matter; I just hope to see them get absolutely slaughtered in the semifinals. 😍

Anthony Roberts2 said:I’ve got a bad feeling about this. Honestly, I think the AK-47 squad is gonna cruise right past them.

But whatever. I just hope they get absolutely slaughtered in the semifinals. 😍

Look, with the way the refs call things in the finals—where they let the defense get so aggressive that half the players don't even have the guts to step up on a jump shot, and the other half are stuck on the bench in casts—it wouldn't be a shock if their new golden boy pulled it off. In any other scenario, the Frenchmen aren't even that scary. I watched them play a bit and yeah, they're tough, they're annoying, but that's about it. They play inconsistent, hot-and-cold ball just like we do...

But anyway, the next hurdle is the Pole. There's zero point even thinking about the championship right now.🙂

boldhound8 said:Look, with the officiating criteria they’ve been sticking to in the playoffs—where they allow such aggressive defense that half the players don't even have the guts to approach a jump shot, while the other half is stuck on the bench in a cast—their new gold medal wouldn't be any kind of surprise. In any other scenario, the French aren't really the monsters everyone makes them out to be; I've watched them a bit, and yeah, they're tough, they're annoying, but nothing more than that—they play just like we do, hot and cold...

So, basically, the Poles are next—there's zero point in even thinking about the finals yet.🙂

Well obviously, the Poles are good, but at the end of the day, the players need to have that specific mindset first.😁

I've been following the other matchup too, and the Icelanders play a pretty physical brand of defense, so this should be interesting.

From what I can see, the officiating throughout this whole tournament has been much stricter than in previous years—I highly doubt they'll suddenly flip the script in the last two days, though I certainly hope they do—because, frankly, tighter calls would actually work in our favor if we ended up facing the French.😁

And, even though it's beside the point right now, I think they're going to keep giving us trouble for another one or three tournaments—aside from Karabatic and Abalard, most of their roster is getting pretty old... so they're headed for a decline in a year or two.😍

Anthony Roberts2 said:sure, the Poles are solid, but at the end of the day, players have to actually think like that if they want to win😁

I’ve been keeping an eye on the other matchup too—ISL plays a pretty gritty defense, so this one should be interesting.

From what I can tell, the officiating has been much more aggressive this year compared to previous tournaments. I doubt things will suddenly shift in these last two days—well, I hope not, anyway—but honestly, stricter calls work in our favor if we end up facing the French.😁

And, even though it’s kind of a tangent, I feel like they’re going to give us trouble for another tournament or three. Aside from Karabatic and Abal, most of their core is getting pretty old... so expect a massive drop-off in a year or two.😍

Go look at French statistics regarding progression before you start talking about strict officiating...

They've got 10 shutouts compared to our 25, just for context.

Whoops 😁

I haven't been tracking their recent stats closely—can't say I have—but I know how they played leading up to this. We'll see how it actually shakes out the day after tomorrow.😁

The refs here just love handing out suspensions😁 We play the cleanest game of handball you'll ever see, yet we end up sitting in the penalty box just as much as those thugs who try to bully us every single game😁