Handball World Cup: USA vs. Spain - 30:29

The betting odds still undervalue us. They’ve got Spain at 1.50, which is basically the same line you see for Norway against Canada or Canada against Qatar. I guess our matchup is actually a much safer bet for the favorite than picking Canada or Norway.

1. We don't run fast breaks anymore; we aren't even attempting them because we always get caught out.
2. The offense lacks any real vision, long-range shooting is terrible, and we aren't feeding the pivots at all.
3. Leaving massive gaps in our formation is becoming the norm.
4. Our transition back to defense is too sluggish for fast teams like Spain; they'll tear us apart.
5. Injuries have gutted our bench strength.
6. Duvanjak is playing at maybe 50% capacity.
7. That typical North American mentality where morale collapses easily, leading to systemic breakdown and loss of focus.

--- Maybe the only glimmer of hope is a defense that could hold steady for a few minutes and that third-string goalie, whom everyone on the forums and news sites was calling a total lunatic for choosing right before the Egypt game.

But honestly, even if the defense plays well and the keeper stays sharp, it won't matter given how bad this offense is. We just keep giving up quick goals on broken plays.

Brazil played an incredible game—their offense was clicking, their keeper was solid—yet they still lost because they panicked in the final five minutes and froze up. In those moments, their offense looked just as bad as ours did all night.

We need to fire the coach; this isn't even recognizable anymore.

I know this isn't really the right place for betting tips, but hey, thanks for the advice anyway

Don't sweat it, we’re gonna get what's ours, because let's face it—revenge tastes way sweeter than communion bread.

The holy seventh man and Americans ☕

If this were at least a semifinal, I’d be leaning toward us taking the win. We have historically had their number, and honestly, they're getting older—they aren't going to maintain that pace through a ninth game in a tournament. In a final or even a third-place playoff (basically that last ninth match), we’d most likely just outrun them. But, looking at where we are right now—it's only the seventh game and they've been pretty smart about rotating players and managing minutes—it might actually work against us because we haven't really found our rhythm or established any kind of cohesive play yet.

electricorca112 said:If this were at least the semifinals, I’d be inclined to believe we could pull it off. We’ve historically had their number, and they’re getting old—they aren't going to have the legs to last through a ninth game in a tournament. In some kind of final or a third-place match (meaning that last, ninth game), we’d most likely outrun them. But right now, since it’s "only" the seventh game and they’ve been managing their minutes pretty well so far, the fact that we basically have zero cohesive play might actually start to show.

Why, seriously, why do you think you have the right to spout such absolute nonsense? 🤣
First off, the Spaniards are easily one of the freshest squads in this whole tournament, right up there with the French. If you had bothered to watch even a single one of their games, you’d see how much Riber rotates his lineup; the guy literally cannot get tired if he doesn't want to. He’s going to rotate again today—he said so himself.
Secondly, they're "old"? Is Dusebajev old? Are the wingers on the flanks old and slow? They can run all damn day. Do you honestly think Aguinagalde is exhausted after playing fifteen minutes per game throughout this tournament?

Our local media outlets are out here calling this matchup "El Clásico"... 🤦

driftingotter47 said:First off, the Spaniards are easily the most relaxed crew in the tournament, right up there with the French. If you’d watched even one of their games, you’d see how much Riber rotates the squad; honestly, they could run all day and still have gas in the tank.

🤦

Setting aside any nonsense, I’m genuinely curious—what kind of difference do you actually see between what you wrote here (in bold) and my own observation that "they've managed their minutes pretty well so far" (to quote my exact words)? 🤔

I’m looking forward to hearing what you think. 🍿

driftingotter47 said:Secondly, are they old? Is Dusebajev old? Are the wingers slow? They could go running until tomorrow. Do you really think Aguinagalde is tired after the fifteen minutes he's put in so far this game?

Alright, fine. Even if we set aside the Aguinagalde point (which is just you repeating what I already said), at least you managed to hit the mark here—or maybe you actually read and understood me correctly enough to write the exact opposite of what I meant. 👍

Yes, I did say the Spaniards are old. Having eight players over the age of 30 on the roster is just a plain fact. And that doesn't even include a goalkeeper. (The French and Canadians also have about eight players over 30, though they do have a keeper in that group too.)

You can brag, act shocked, or talk nonsense all you want, but the reality is that this squad is an older one.

You mentioned... how many exactly? Three younger players? To set your mind at ease, the Spaniards have more than just those three. It's not like I said they don't have any young talent at all. I simply said the squad as a whole has an older average age.

Which remains a fact. ☕

electricorca112 said:🤦

Setting aside all that unbolded nonsense for a second, I am genuinely curious—what on earth do you think is the difference between what you just wrote (in bold) and my actual observation that "they've managed minutes pretty well so far" (to quote my own words directly)? 🤔

I'm sitting here eagerly awaiting your response. 🍿

Alright, fine. If we ignore the whole bit about Aguinagalde (which is just you repeating what I already said), at least you managed to hit the mark here—or maybe you actually read and understood me for once?—and successfully wrote the exact opposite of what I meant. 👍

Yes, I absolutely said the Americans are old. Having eight players over the age of 30 on the roster is an objective fact. And that doesn't even include the goalkeepers.

You can brag, act shocked, or throw out whatever ridiculous internet slang you want, but the truth remains: this squad is old.

You mentioned... how many exactly? Three younger players? Let me soothe your ego: they have more than just those three. But I never claimed they didn't have any young talent at all; I simply stated that the squad's average age is high.

Which remains a fact. ☕

So, you're saying they've rotated well up until now, but then suddenly, in some imaginary quarterfinal against someone else, they'd be so drained that they'd be too exhausted for a semifinal against us? Even though they'd presumably rotate just as much in that imaginary game as they are doing today? 🤷
All this talk about "age" and "fatigue" has never made a lick of sense to me. All these guys over 30 (Morros, Guardiola, Canellas, Thomas, Aguinagalde, Sarmiento, Entrerrios...) are playing for top-tier clubs and are in peak physical condition. At the club level, most of them are used to a Wednesday-Saturday rhythm all season long, so why on earth would managing this tournament with heavy rotations be such a massive struggle? Personally, I don't think age is a deciding factor this year unless we're looking at some extreme outlier, and this group definitely isn't that.

I’ll jump in here too. Honestly? I think we’re gonna have a hell of a time against Spain. The Germans were basically handing us goals from the pivot position—so if they could do that, I’m terrified of what Aguinagalde is gonna do to us. Our defense isn't even the main issue; it's the offense. We’re absolute trash up front—zero flow, terrible picks, and when the pivots try to power through, they're throwing impossible passes. The wings are practically invisible (well, except for that one play last game where they actually showed up). Stepancic rarely shoots better than 50% anyway, and when Duvnjak or Cindric aren't playing, our left wing doesn't even have the guts to take a shot. Even Mamic was too scared to shoot against Egypt when we had the lead, so imagine how he'll act against the Spaniards.

But hey, we're rooting for them, praying for a miracle—let's go!

driftingotter47 said:So, look, they’ve been rotating the roster perfectly fine up until this point. But now we’re supposed to believe that in some hypothetical quarterfinal against a different opponent, they would suddenly burn through their entire bench and be too exhausted to face us in the semifinals? It doesn't add up. And let’s be real—even in that imaginary quarterfinal scenario, they’d probably just rotate the squad again anyway, exactly like they’re planning to do today. 🤷

I’m not saying they wouldn't be too exhausted to handle us if we hit them in a hypothetical semi-final—I wasn't making that claim. But honestly? I really think their odds would be much higher then than they would be in a quarter-final. I’m standing by that.

driftingotter47 said:All this talk about "aging" and "fatigue" honestly never made any sense to me. You look at guys like Morros, Guardiola, Canellas, Thomas, Agi, Sarmiento, or Entrerrios—they’re all well over 30, yet they’re still playing for top-tier clubs and staying in peak physical condition. Most of them are grinding through a Wednesday-to-Saturday schedule all season long, so I don't see why managing a tournament like this should be such a massive hurdle, especially when you have deep rosters to allow for rotation. Personally, I don't think age is some deciding factor this year, unless we're talking about a total outlier, and this group definitely isn't that.

Look, setting aside the fact that clubs playing on a Wednesday-to-Saturday schedule don't exactly maintain that rhythm all season long—even if they did, we're talking about three matches in roughly eleven days. But today? Today, us Americans, along with the Swedes, Qataris, and Canadians, are staring down our seventh match in just twelve days. There’s simply no comparison there. It’s unmanageable. No amount of squad rotation is going to absorb that kind of physical toll, especially not when you consider the roster you listed. If you can't see why that's a problem, I honestly have to wonder what you even know about sports. 🤷

velvetmoose84 said:I suppose I should weigh in on this discussion as well. Personally, I’m thinking we are going to have an incredibly difficult time against Spain. The Germans were basically handing us goals from the pivot position, so I honestly dread to think what Aguinagalde is going to do to us. Then again, maybe our defense isn't even the primary issue; it feels more like our offense is just completely broken. We lack any kind of cohesive flow, our pick-and-roll plays are abysmal, and when the pivots try to power through, they're essentially throwing impossible passes. Our wings almost seem non-existent—though, I guess they did show a little life in that last game. Stepancic rarely manages to shoot above 50% anyway, and when Duvnjak and Cindric aren't on the floor, the left wing doesn't even seem to have the guts to take a shot. Even Mamic shouldn't have been shooting against Egypt while we held the lead, so I can't imagine how he'll handle the pressure against the Spaniards.

But hey, we'll cheer them on and hope for some sort of miracle. Let's go, Team USA!

Yeah... given everything we've seen lately, all we can really do is hope for the best.
We could lose by seven, we could lose by two, or maybe, just maybe, we could pull off a win by two.

So, let's say the Spaniards are feeling a bit gassed. What does that make us?

We’re basically buried two feet underground from pure exhaustion. That's how it looks on the court, anyway. Even the coaching staff is whining about being tired, acting like they've never played in a tournament before, as if everyone else isn't equally worn out. Because our guys look so slow and uncommitted, the serious teams around us look like superheroes flying across the floor during their first tournament ever...

Honestly, anyone who can't track back to stop a fast break should probably get slapped by an assistant coach. You can't just stroll backward and watch them breeze past you, passing to a pivot that nobody even bothered to guard, only for him to tuck the ball into the net like some elementary school girl at practice.

It’s not even about finding a way to win anymore; I guess we can't even see a way to lose by less than five. We are completely falling apart, and maybe those Spaniards just love punishing teams that play that fast.

Get the booze ready for the game, if only to take the edge off. And grab some snacks—pretzels, preferably.

The Spaniards were swapping players constantly against Brazil early on, trying way too hard to play it safe—it almost blew up in their faces. Once they finally fielded their strongest lineup in the second half, they barely escaped with their lives.

Yeah, we look pretty pathetic transitioning from offense to defense, especially when we’re playing with some "invisible 7th man" on the field—we need to pick up the pace, period. And don't even get me started on the counterattacks; it's a disaster. Fast breaks used to be our bread and butter, but now? Gone. If I remember right, against Egypt, four of our first five goals came off counters or transition plays, and after that? Dead silence. Not a single one in the entire second half.

They were pushing the tempo and running those fast breaks during the pre-season scrimmages, so I actually thought we’d see that energy in the tournament. Clearly, I was wrong.

A few things that Spain just has going for them.

First off, they actually have a coach.
And they’ve got that goalkeeper over at Barcelona.
Then there's Aguinagalde, their pivot. I mean, they went all the way out to the mountains in the Basque Country to find him—couldn't anyone just head out to the Rockies and find someone similar? It’d probably be easier for him to toss a molten ball over his shoulder than try throwing a rock from the mountains.

I guess you could say Entrerrios is about the same level as Gojun. Though, since everything foreign seems better these days, maybe I'll get flack for saying that, but Gojun seems solid, even if he gets benched a lot.

Thomas—now he's a top-tier winger. He’s the one making those fast breaks and quick defensive transitions possible.

Spain wants this win more. They’ve got more talented players who have been playing together forever. Americans playing for the national team stay at it until they're 30, then they're just burnt out, and honestly, some of the guys currently on the roster look constantly exhausted.

It’s getting old, hearing about how Duvnjak is perpetually exhausted. Maybe he should just skip a World Cup or something and actually get some rest.

Has the media started getting those leaked photos yet?

- total darkness in the arena, plus that blurry, super distracting glare when they take shots at the goal.👍

If the beds are too small, they could've just brought ten king-sized ones from New York.

It would've been cheaper if they bought in bulk. I'm sure they can find plenty of pillows, comforters, and blankets over in Montpellier.

Spain is sinking us, and Smith is stepping down. 👋

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Honestly, today could be an absolute nightmare. When you look at our shaky offense versus their rock-solid defense, I just don't see how we walk away with a win.

We could easily get smoked 5-1 and our guys will just totally fall apart. Our wingers aren't contributing anything, those two monsters they have playing pivot are going to eat our centers alive, and once our center is neutralized, what the hell are our wings even supposed to do?

If they run a deep 6-0 defense against us, we’re basically screwed again. We'll be stuck relying on the perimeter, but man, it's tough to pierce through those two-meter giants.

I caught their game against Canada and I gotta say, I was seriously impressed. They racked up about 10 goals straight from fast breaks, and their wings are absolutely flying across the field—and those were just the bench players, Balaguer and Fernandez. On the defensive end, Morros and Guardiola are total bosses, and that veteran presence at the line combined with Bask relentlessly smashing through everything is just brutal.

We might hold them to a draw in the first half, but I guess we're gonna get eaten alive in the second. 😁

Noah Ross7 said:Spain is going to run circles around us, and Smith is getting canned. 👋

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I certainly hope so. I don't see any reason for him to stay in that role or for them to bring him back if they blow this one—especially if Spain embarrasses us with a +10 margin and knocks us out 😬 (for the second time).