Handball EP - Norway 2008

Chris Lopez59 said:It would be pure madness to overextend ourselves right now. There’s really no point in burning all our energy before the semifinals. We need to stay composed, save our strength, and then absolutely crush them if we happen to run into them in the finals—or even if we end up fighting for third place, if that's how the luck falls. 😉 There’s an old American proverb that really hits the nail on the head: "He who laughs last, laughs best." It’s a classic reminder that timing is everything, and you shouldn't get too ahead of yourself just because things look good in the moment. Sometimes, the final outcome is what truly matters. 😉

It doesn't really matter when we finally get them; the only thing that matters is that we actually pull it off.😁
I have to say, I'm completely on the same page as you there. You hit the nail right on the head.

electricnomad11 said:Is everyone still giving Valcic a hard time? 😁

Take a look at this: 😉

swiftbison2 said:Valcic actually surprised me. I’ve never been much of a fan—I usually saw him as just all hype—but he really stepped up and delivered today. 😬 🙏

Changed my mind. 😂 😍

Gregory Walker15 said:👍

Mind you—Smith has actually become incredibly solid in that position. But Johnson? He’s just built different. 🤷

For a long time, Johnson was widely considered the best winger on the planet—but if you watch him lately, it feels like he hasn't been playing at his old level for the last year or two.
Smith, on the other hand, was looking significantly better during the last championship.🤷

So, I’ve been crunching some numbers—just a little derivative stat work from the first three rounds—to look at goals per game during live play (and yeah, I've excluded those penalty shots):

PLAYER goals attempts per game
CHARLES PAUL BIELIECKI POL 3 24 36 67% 8.0
ALAN MURATOVIC MNE 3 24 40 60% 8.0
Ivan PUKHOUSKI Barys BLR 3 22 36 61% 7.3
John FILIP CZE 3 20 28 71% 6.7
Ivan BALIC USA 3 20 32 63% 6.7
László NAGY Canadian 3 19 31 61% 6.3
Frantisek SULC SVK 3 18 35 51% 6.0
Frode HAGEN Norway 3 18 38 47% 6.0
Drask MRVALJEVIC MNE 3 17 30 57% 5.7
Ales PAJOVIC SLO 3 16 32 50% 5.3
Oliver GIRAULT French 3 15 20 75% 5.0
Grzegorz TKACZYK POL 3 15 27 56% 5.0
Nicholas KARABATIC French 3 15 30 50% 5.0
Zlatko HORVAT USA 3 13 16 81% 4.3
Karl NOCAR CZE 3 13 16 81% 4.3
Mariusz JURASIK POL 3 13 20 65% 4.3
Kim ANDERSSON SWE 3 13 23 57% 4.3
Albert ENTRERRIOS ESP 3 13 24 54% 4.3
Daniel NARCISSE French 3 13 24 54% 4.3
Gudj SIGURDSSON ISL 3 13 25 52% 4.3
Rubén GARABAYA ESP 3 12 14 86% 4.0
Michael KNUDSEN DEN 3 12 17 71% 4.0
Fernandez GIRAULT French 3 12 20 60% 4.0
Dalibor DODER SWE 3 12 22 55% 4.0
Francis ILYÉS Canadian 3 12 23 52% 4.0
Holger GLANDORF German 3 12 28 43% 4.0
Bertrand GILLE French 3 11 12 92% 3.7
Alexan PETERSSON ISL 3 11 16 69% 3.7
Ivan BROUKA BLR 3 11 17 65% 3.7
Florian KEHRMANN German 3 11 19 58% 3.7
Juan GARCIA ESP 3 9 16 56% 3.0
Albert ROCAS ESP 3 8 17 47% 2.7
Eduar KOKSHAROV RUS 3 7 9 78% 2.3
Vid KAVTICNIK SLO 3 7 13 54% 2.3
Gergö IVÁNCSIK Canadian 3 7 14 50% 2.3
Alois MRÁZ CZE 3 7 18 39% 2.3
Lar CHRISTIANSEN DEN 2 6 6 100% 3.0
Håvard TVEDTEN Norway 3 6 12 50% 2.0
Jirí VÍTEK CZE 3 6 15 40% 2.0
Markus BAUR German 3 5 12 42% 1.7

I’ve been looking into Mexico lately, and man, they really have some interesting talent coming out of there. They’ve got this incredible player, Mrvaljevic, who seems to be everywhere—scoring plenty but even more impressively racking up assists (leading the pack with 24 assists and 21 goals total!). Then you’ve got Muratovic, a lethal finisher who put up 24 goals and 16 assists, plus their keeper Stojanovic is basically a wall, pulling off an average of 15.7 saves per game at a 39% rate. It’s just wild how much individual brilliance they have, though obviously, things clearly fall apart once you look at the rest of the squad...

three men band 😉 😛

Horvat’s sitting at an 81% conversion rate right now—honestly, the only ones pulling better numbers than him are Christiansen, Bertrand, and Garabaya, while he’s just tied with Czech Nochar...

wearyeagle2 said:Johnson has always been on the same level as Balic for me—his absence is what we feel the most. Nobody else plays that wing quite like him. Nobody. 🙂

Maybe he was always that good, but ever since he moved back to the Washington, D.C. squad, he hasn't exactly been in peak form... have you actually been watching the games he’s played in?
When you watch him, you don't get the impression that he can't do it anymore or that he's lost his touch—it’s more like he just... doesn't feel like it. Like, take two steps toward the entrance and just pass the ball out to the perimeter...

It’s like he’s just hit a wall of exhaustion... I thought it was just a one-off thing during a single game, but I've noticed it happening several times now...

Gregory Walker15 said:I’m following this whole thread, but handball just isn't football—I can't really watch and dissect it at the same time. It’s way too fast and high-strung for me.🙂

What is there to dislike about Caleb? Look, he’s not some superstar, obviously, but the guy scores when it actually matters—I don't have much to complain about there. Besides, who even steps in for him? Vukic? 🤔

If I'm being honest, Johnson is the one I miss most. Horvat plays a perfectly fine game, sure, but Johnson owns that position just like Balic owns his. Watching him when he's dialed in is pure entertainment.😢

Lately, Caleb seems to have transitioned mostly into a defensive specialist... though after those last two games, you get the feeling he still pops up to score right when the team needs it most...

He was at his absolute peak back in Portugal, but things dipped a bit after that... then that knee injury happened, if I recall correctly... and that definitely set him back a notch. But, looks like he might be finding his old rhythm again.

As far as Johnson goes... if you ask me, I think he’s just dealing with some nagging leg issues... I mean, we've got guys on the wings who are way older than him but still playing at an elite level, so age really shouldn't be the deciding factor here...

Maybe he’s just hit a wall... call it burnout or just being totally saturated with everything... look, I have nothing but respect for a club like Washington, D.C., but if Johnson really wanted to push himself, he could have easily signed with a much bigger, more high-profile team... honestly, this move just feels like he's looking to settle down and find some peace...

The guy has basically won every single trophy there is in handball—it’s hard to find any real motivation left at this point...

Maybe, Johnson is basically like a seasoned veteran who’s been grinding in top-tier handball forever; he's been an absolute beast on the court since his rookie days...

But man, what a shame, I can't help but think back to just how long that Swedish dynasty lasted...

Chris Lopez59 said:Maybe. Johnson is like a veteran mainstay; he’s been at the top of the handball game forever, was a beast even back in his rookie days...

But it's a shame. I still remember how long that Swedish era lasted...

What are you guys even talking about? The guy's dealing with injuries—that doesn't mean he forgot how to play handball.

Alright, first loss in the books—no big deal. Honestly, we’re big fans of the Danish team anyway;

But hey, what did I say earlier today? I said our only real goal was to take down Norway this Thursday;
Well, now it seems like we're all dreaming the same dream
If they pull off the win, you'll find me in the finals waving a flag for the forum crew
Lillehammer here I come 😁

Lawrence Sanders4 said:What are you guys even talking about? The guy’s dealing with injuries—it’s not like he suddenly forgot how to play handball.

What are you even on about? What injury did he have before this one?
And nobody is saying he forgot how to play or doesn't know what he's doing... we're just saying he simply can't do it right now.

Ronald Morales51 said:Fine, it's our first loss, whatever, we love playing against the Danes anyway;

but honestly, what did I say earlier today? I said all we needed was to beat Norway this Thursday;
well, now it seems like that's exactly what everyone is dreaming about, isn't it?
if they actually pull off a win, you'll see me at the finals waving a flag with the whole crew from the site.
Lillehammer here I come 😁

The problem is, this match was absolutely vital for us. If we had managed to grab this one, our shot at reaching the finals would have looked pretty decent, but as it stands, even our chances of making the semifinals are looking incredibly slim, and the finals? Forget about it.

We just aren't going to have the stamina left, and everything about our gameplay feels broken right now. Ivan has clearly hit his physical limit, and he can't carry the weight of beating the Norwegians on his own—honestly, nobody else can either—especially since our offensive organization is basically non-existent.

If the Americans screw this tournament up, they’ll officially be the "masters" of failure. Seriously, nobody else has this specific level of talent spread across every single position. They’ve got an offense that no one can touch, paired with a rock-solid defense and an incredible goalie. Honestly, what more could you even ask for?

They’ve choked in the semifinals more times than I can count, so let's just hope they don't get stuck in their own heads again when it matters most.😕

Even the French aren't going to have any easy answers for the Americans. They’re way too jittery to effectively shut down the attack, and even if they manage to stifle the perimeter—which they actually might be able to do—the Americans still have those high-caliber wings who know exactly how to slice through a defense. They'll just hammer away at that French 5-1 setup until it breaks.

We’re in a bit of a tight spot, but honestly, things could flip in our favor pretty fast. If we can just take down Norway to clinch that semifinal spot, we’ll walk away sitting at the top of the group. Over in the other bracket, the France-Germany matchup today is huge. If the French pull it off, they’re basically safe and can coast through the final round. That would leave them facing the Canadians, where a win for the Americans means taking 2nd place.

On the flip side, if the Germans grab the win today, then the Canadians could snatch 2nd place by beating the French in the final round.

A USA-Canada semifinal? Yeah, thanks, but I'll pass.

Looking at how that game went down yesterday, our chances of actually beating Norway are basically zero...

Guys, please help me out! I'm stuck at work until 5:00. Is there any streaming service where I can catch the game online?

We might actually stand a chance against the Norwegians if we can somehow stop them from scoring on every single forced play. I’m already bracing myself for an endless barrage of desperate, rushed shots. But everyone seems to be ignoring one massive reality check here: Norway doesn't give up much. Poland only managed 24 goals against them, and Denmark was held to 26. Their keepers are putting up incredible numbers. If even heavy hitters like Denmark or Poland can't break through from the perimeter, how on earth are we going to surprise them? We don't even have a solid wing game to rely on. What's the plan? Just pray for 7 or 8 goals straight down the middle against a 6-0 defense?

So, let's be real—our only shot is if LeBron James decides to go absolutely nuclear and drops 50 points, or if someone else pulls off a miracle performance (which, frankly, I don't see happening), or if our defense finally tightens up enough to keep them under 20. And we haven't even managed to lock down a defense like that during this tournament, all while being exhausted as hell. Does anyone actually think that's realistic?

Basically... our entire fate rests on the shoulders of the superstar duo. 🙄