Bronze Medal Match: USA vs. Norway (31-24)

"I am incredibly proud that my husband plays for the US National Team—but honestly, there are moments when I regret it too," says champion Iva. "He’s constantly facing such unfair judgment and nasty comments. When the national team drops a game, the blame usually lands squarely on Mirko—as if he's somehow the sole reason for the loss! Of course, those criticisms come from people who don't know a thing about handball or his actual career." Mirko proves his elite skill every single day playing for Veszprem. He has already secured six medals with the national squad, including an Olympic one, and he's only 30—his prime is still ahead of him. Sometimes, though, I truly wish he didn't have to play for the national team; I think it would be much better if we could just be together as a family, especially since his kids miss him so much because of all the constant travel and time away. 'Regardless of how today goes, I'll be right there by his side,' she added.

😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂

Champion Iva. 🤣 🤣 🤣

What an absolute mess 🤣🤣🤣

George Chavez8 said:Alilović played some really solid tournaments leading up to the semifinals, unfortunately. But he and Čupić always seem to fall apart during the big games; it's been happening for years now. Those tiny margins have decided things so many times. It isn't a coincidence either. Today was a perfect example—the Norwegians were down by two and we had a man advantage, Steve makes the save, and then immediately we score and they get a penalty... if it hadn't been for that one point difference, who knows what would've happened..

Back when we were actually winning gold, we had guys like Šol and Losert who knew how to step up when it mattered... though people tend to forget that pretty quickly.

The whole curse involving the French started back in 2007. We were playing the best handball in the history of this sport at that tournament; we were insanely good. But apparently, just one old lion, Omeyer, was enough to wreck our entire generation and create a permanent mental block, along with that clown Červar, whom Onesta treats like some kind of genius. Honestly, all that French "dominance" wouldn't even be possible without Omeyer.

I guess we might have picked up a few more golds if we'd had a better goalie and a roster that was maybe 20-30 percent weaker than what we actually had. In a sport like this, the goalie is everything.

The other issue is Červar, who doesn't seem to have any ideas beyond "just pass it to Balić" whenever things go south. Don't even get me started on Goluža.

Maybe if we had one legitimate goalie and a coach with actual authority and knowledge, we could have avoided this tragedy. Since 2004, we haven't won a single gold with players like these.

This new coach basically told me everything I need to know about starting a semifinal with Alilović and Čupič; the guy is an idiot, though a likable one, I suppose.

The mental collapse started back in 2005 in Tunis, during that final where Garcia completely tore us apart. We've been psychologically trashed ever since.

Ivy is right, don't mess around 🙂

And what about him? He's acting like a thief 🤦

Dear Ivy, if you ever need a shoulder to cry on, I'm here 🙂 I mean, I'm not exactly a supermodel either, if that's your thing 🙂

Adam Williams2 As specified by:
I am simply waiting for someone to finally make the smart observation that people are being targeted with hate speech just because they happen to be from the South. 🙏

Think of it this way:

Carl Garcia22 🙏 🙏

Adam Williams2 said:I'm honestly just sitting here waiting for someone to make the smart observation that people are being hounded simply because they come from the South 🙏

Well, look—I’m from the South myself, and I still find myself hating on them sometimes! So, what's the big deal?

https://scontent-vie1-1.xx.fbcdn.net...96&oe=5738295D

jadeseal7 said:Look, I'm from the South too, so I get why people might dislike him—it doesn't change the facts!

https://scontent-vie1-1.xx.fbcdn.net...96&oe=5738295D

It seems Carl Garcia22 is actually even more of a local chauvinist than you are. 🙂

George Robinson43 said:Honestly, Carl Garcia22 is a bit more of a local chauvinist than you are. 🙂

Does anyone actually know where Carl Garcia22 is from? I wonder if he has any teammates from his neck of the woods playing in the league right now. 😁

jadeseal7 said:Well, I'm from the South too, so I hate him, but what does that have to do with anything?

If you hate Alilović, then you hate everyone, and honestly, who cares anyway?☕

I guess I'm not really sure what the connection is there. I think maybe you didn't quite catch what I was trying to get at with my last post.😉

George Robinson43 said:Is this what you mean?

Carl Garcia22 🙏 🙏

You're reading me like an open book. 🤣 Still, I appreciate the effort. It's nice to see a forum regular actually living up to their reputation. 👍

In a sport where almost every offensive drive ends in a missed shot, you really need a goalie who can actually step up and make a save. When teams are clinching championships, the keepers usually hover around a 30% save rate—that’s plenty—but if you're sitting at half that, well, you're just out of luck... Your offense has to take an absurd number of shots just to compensate for those zeroes. That might work against some bottom-tier teams, but you aren't going to find those easy openings when you're facing a powerhouse like the French 🤣

Carl Garcia22 said:You read me like an open book! 🤣 Kudos to the effort here! It’s truly refreshing to see a forum veteran actually live up to their reputation. 👍

Who could possibly forget those posts of yours where you were constantly insisting, "Don't you dare touch Mirko!"? 🙂

quietbison86 said:We’d probably beat them, but we’d definitely get crushed by the Germans since we wouldn't have any clue how to defend them. Maybe we’d lose by a smaller margin against the Spaniards, though, because our three-point shooting is actually better than theirs.

Alilović and Ćupić deserve to hang it up and retire from the national team already. ☕

Yeah, I saw that coming—a finals run, but ultimately walking away with silver. But then Mirko showed up at the goal...

Robin Fox2 said:In a game where, let's be honest, pretty much every single offensive drive ends in a score these days, you really need a goalie who can actually step up and make a save once in a while.

But, I mean, if you want the goalie to actually have something to save, you first need a defense that's solid enough to force the other team into taking some desperate, low-percentage shots.

Paul Jones7 said:For a goalkeeper to actually make a save, you need a defense strong enough to force the opponent into taking desperate, low-quality shots.

Are we talking about forced shots like these?

Paul Jones7 said:If you actually want a goalie to make a save, you need a defense that forces the opposition into taking rushed, desperate shots.

Well, sometimes you just have to step up and save those desperation shots too.

Paul Jones7 said:If you actually want the goalie to make a save, you need a defense that forces the other team into making bad shots in the first place.

The best defense is just playing offense, right?

jadeseal7 said:One must go out of their way to defend them.

It’s like playing against a team that takes 3 or 4 lucky shots while we miss 25 or 30 easy layups. 🙂
That is exactly how the Cemex fan club operates.

Samuel Walker7 said:Kopljar might be a bit soft sometimes, but honestly, he plays with so much heart that when his shot isn't falling, he just heads out and locks down on defense.

Man, this stuff really gets under my skin, I guess. It’s like one of those old urban legends that everyone just keeps repeating because it's become part of the folklore.

Yeah, okay, maybe Kopljar used to dodge every single shot possible, and if he actually did shoot, he’d miss—except for maybe that one game against France back in 2012, I think we won by like 6 or 7 points?

But this version of Kopljar? He's night and day compared to that old player. The guy is scoring, he's aggressive on offense (way more than before!), and as for defense... well, let's be real, anyone standing 6'11" would be a decent defender, especially if they actually know how to play the game.

The bottom line is—our right wing is actually a huge asset on offense, no matter how hard people try to ignore it.