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

ironharbor22 said:Honestly, why is everyone stressing out? We’re going up against the Danes, and we've got Kopljar leading the charge. It's looking like a comfortable win for us, probably with a +1 margin to boot.😂

The worst part? Take yesterday, for instance. Kopljar was actually having a decent run—he managed to find the back of the net twice—only for Lino to pull him out of the game and leave him on the bench for the rest of the match. What kind of message is that supposed to send?

mellowcrane41 said:So Norway just takes Iceland's spot and we just carry on?
..though let's be honest, we haven't exactly had great luck when they play "for us."

We could always just bump them out since they actually have a shot at the semifinals; honestly, this whole tournament is so unpredictable that why shouldn't they get a crack at it? Of course, then it all comes down to how we perform, and frankly, nobody wants that kind of pressure on their shoulders.😁

Henry Rodriguez5 said:The worst part? Yesterday, the Cop was actually on fire and bagged two goals, then Lin pulls him out and leaves him on the bench. What kind of message is that?

It’s not even the first time he’s yanked a player just as they get going this tournament. Same thing happened with Vukovic. But hey, I guess Lin knows what he's doing. 😁

ironharbor22 said:It isn't exactly groundbreaking for him to pull a player from the lineup like this during a tournament; he’s done it before. We're seeing the exact same pattern play out with Vuković right now, but I suppose we just have to trust that Lin knows what he's doing.😁

Lin is just a total sellout.😁😁

So, if we’re tied on points, what actually breaks the tie? Is it goal difference or does the head-to-head record take precedence???
What are our actual odds looking like against the Danes, or even against the Norwegians when they go up against the Icelanders???

basically Lin = Repeša😁

They’ve got what it takes, and we’re walking away with the win 😍

Yeah, maybe we’ll see it happen before our big game. This tournament is anyone's game right now; it wouldn't shock me at all if Norway pulls off a win against Iceland...

Especially since the Norwegians actually have a fighting chance here. Their only real issue is that if they win, they basically hand us a spot in the semifinals. If that happens, our guys might not give it their all against the Danes... 😁

So, I wouldn't be surprised if Norway pushes us into the semis, only for us to fail to return the favor later on... 😬

That is, unless our team keeps a close eye on how the other group shakes out. They might decide to push for first place just to dodge playing someone like France in the semifinals instead..

That's the dream, honestly, because their style of play is a total nightmare for us to deal with...

ironharbor22 said:I suppose Lin is basically the same as the coach here.😁

---😁 My bad, I completely misread the situation there. Sorry about that.😍😍

Ronald White61 said:If teams are tied on points, does goal differential or head-to-head take precedence?
What are our odds against the Danes—or rather, how do the Norwegians stack up against the Icelanders?

Just standard tournament talk. To clarify, if two or more national teams end up with the exact same number of points, the tiebreakers follow this order:
1. Points earned specifically in games played against the teams involved in the tie.
2. Goal differential within those specific matchups.
3. Total goals scored in those specific matchups.

...after those are exhausted, you move on to overall goal differential and total goals scored throughout the tournament...

Looking at our current situation...
Iceland vs. Denmark: 27-22
Denmark vs. Norway: 24-23

So, the Danes are sitting at a -4 differential with 46 goals scored, the Norwegians at -1 with 23, and the Icelanders are at +5 with 27. For the Norwegians to overtake Iceland, they’d need a victory by at least four goals, assuming the Danes lose to us... 😁 If they only win by three, they’d match Iceland's +2 differential, but Iceland would necessarily have one more goal scored under their belt...

I don't know if you guys caught the game, but the refs absolutely screwed over the Norwegians—they wiped two goals right off the board. That second one was especially nonsensical; they were practically scoring on the line before the foul even happened, but instead, the ref cancels the goal and hands them a penalty that the Norwegians end up missing. And this happens just one Minute before the whistle. If they had converted that, there’s a massive chance Norway would have walked away with the win. You could tell they were just standing there in total shock. Honestly, the officials basically handed it to the Danes on a silver platter. It’s a complete disgrace 👎

Chris Lopez59 said:I’m not sure if you all caught the match, but the officials completely screwed over the Norwegians; they disallowed two goals. The second one was particularly nonsensical—the ball hits the line during a foul, and instead of counting, the ref calls a penalty, which the Norwegians then fail to convert. That happened just one Minute before the end. Had they scored there, there’s a high probability Norway would have taken the win. You could tell they were in total shock. The officiating heavily favored the Danes. It was an embarrassment. 👎

If we actually wanted a Danish victory, it wouldn't be quite this funny, haha. 😁

I watched the entire game, and the Norwegians played the final fifteen minutes of the second half catastrophically... they probably could have scored two or three times in that stretch if they had stayed composed...
The Danes weren't even significantly better—honestly, it was just enough for those Norwegians to end up with a one-goal deficit. 😳

And I don't get it... the Norwegian wingers played brilliantly, yet the team kept insisting on forcing everything through the middle (I think Kjeling missed about 20 shots there 🙄)...
Norway essentially beat themselves; the Danes were poised to win by five or more. 👎

It’s pretty clear the Danes didn't exactly play out of their minds either. But honestly, that doesn't change the fact that the officiating totally skewed the result and screwed over the Norwegians. Look, I’m not even talking about Americans here; I'm talking about the Danes. The Norwegians actually had a real shot at the semifinals! It looks like those Danish officials have quite a bit of influence on things, doesn't it?

Chris Lopez59 said:I don't know if you guys caught the game, but the refs absolutely screwed over the Norwegians—two goals just wiped off the board. Especially that second one, which made zero sense; the ball hits the line during a foul, it's clearly a goal, but then the ref cancels it and calls a penalty instead, which the Norwegians end up missing. And this happens just one Minute before the whistle. If they had converted that, there's a massive chance Norway would have walked away with the win. You could tell they were completely shell-shocked. The officials basically handed it to the Danes on a silver platter. It was an absolute disgrace. 👎

Maybe there was a foul involved, so that's why...

Adam Collins4 said:Maybe he was caught off guard, so that's why...

From what I saw, he wasn't... that Danish guy was just stuck deep in the goalie's crease...

Chris Lopez59 said:from what I caught on screen, he wasn't really... that Danish guy was just standing in massive open space...

Then they just let the lead slip away...

But, honestly, it's a stretch to call that awarded penalty outright robbery...

Take a quick look at the shooting percentages for those Norwegian perimeter players:

Lund - 2/10
Mamelund - 1/3
Kjeling - 7/15

Keep in mind Kjeling hit 5 during the first half... his shooting in the second half was roughly 2/7.

That desperate attempt to force plays through the middle in the final 15 minutes is what ultimately cost them... plain and simple. No officiating issues involved.

Man, that Norwegian team yesterday...🤦

Ninety seconds left on the clock, they get a penalty and a man advantage, then they blow the penalty and end up giving up two goals—the second one from a penalty in the final second.🤮

But whatever, it was fair. We didn't deserve to be bailed out by anyone else. Now we just wait and see who blinks first...😬

I was watching the game yesterday, seeing those set plays with a man advantage, and I couldn't help but think of us. Our guys are absolute phenoms when it comes to winning 1-on-1 battles, but the fact that we still have a shot at the semifinals playing this kind of garbage is honestly infuriating.😁

Henry Rodriguez5 said:The absolute worst part is how, for instance, yesterday the Cop actually got going and netted two goals, only for Lin to pull him out and leave him on the bench for the rest of the game. What kind of message is that?

If I remember correctly, the Cop only played one half, and he was dropping the ball a few times when those Austrians were pushing us up by five... honestly, instead of benching him, we probably shouldn't have even brought him to the 2010 Olympics in the first place.

Adam Collins4 said:They didn't even play the advantage...

But honestly, calling that penalty a robbery feels like a bit of a stretch...

Look, the guy took a heavy hit and the defender was right there in the keeper's box, but somehow he still managed to tuck it home—the shot went off before he even hit the turf. At that point, you either let the goal stand or call the penalty. The only way it’s a foul is if he stepped over the line, and we'd really need to dig through the replay to be sure. I'm gonna go hunt for some clips on YouTube... because if the refs actually screwed up here, they basically decided the outcome since that penalty was missed...

And remember when that right winger scored while being fouled just a Minute earlier? The refs didn't honor the advantage at all; they wiped the goal off the board and sent them back to the spot...