World Handball Championship - THE FINALS

George Ward7 said:Paul Jones7

I guess it feels like Peharec was actually on that national team back in 2003 and 2004—or maybe I'm just misremembering things, it's hard to say for sure. 🤔

Was that back when we were actually out there clinching the gold? 🙂
It’s pretty beautiful if that’s how things work out—though, honestly, after all that, they probably just tossed him aside like yesterday's news... 😵

The bottom line on this tournament
Nothing has changed; the French are still running the show. I’m betting they’ll struggle a bit more at the EP in Poland, likely walking away empty-handed since it's an Olympic year and Rio is their only real priority. Regardless of where they land, I think Spain and Denmark are breathing down their necks. The Spaniards clearly poured everything they had into that match against France, and they just ran out of gas, which showed in their loss to the Poles. Personally, I’d put us right there in fourth place, trailing that duo. You can really see the decline compared to the EP back in 2014; Goluža is basically the ceiling for us, and if we don't want to sink into being just another mediocre mid-tier team finishing 5th through 8th, we need to move on from him.
I’d put Sweden, Germany, and Poland in a second tier. The Swedes were holding their own until injuries absolutely wrecked them, and honestly, I’m dying to see how they look when they actually have a full roster. As for the Germans, they shouldn't have even been in this tournament, so I’m glad to see they didn't claw their way back to the top. They have some decent prospects for the future, but I doubt that legendary generation from before 2007 will ever happen again. Then you have the Poles, who are the perfect example of how a great coach and actual team spirit can take an average squad and turn them into big winners. They’re definitely one of the favorites to grab a medal at the EP playing on home soil.
Iceland is sliding downhill, which was obvious from those losses to Canada and Mexico in the qualifiers, plus that total collapse against the Czech Republic during the tournament. Most of the other European teams underperformed too. That old North American powerhouse era is looking pretty mediocre again. The Canadians are a shadow of what they were two years ago, and the Mexicans just can't seem to find that next level. I’m really hoping Canada doesn't just settle for this current standing and that we actually see them competing in Poland next year.
I don't know the non-European teams all that well. Brazil will probably be solid in Rio, and both Argentina and Egypt have some interesting rosters. I don't really want to say much about Qatar, but in my opinion, they're an "instant" national team—they'll probably never make it past the round of 16 or a quarterfinal.

Damn, looks like we're heading into the qualification group with three Europeans after they shuffled the deck on the qualifiers a bit. 🤮
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handball_qualification

Right now, it looks like we’re stuck with Poland and another top performer from the EP who missed out. But, if Qatar and some other European squad ahead of us at the SP grab those continental titles, we might end up in Group 3 with Germany and the best from the EP.

The Mexicans look like they're sliding into the easiest group of all.

Terry Fisher2 said:Damn, looks like we're heading into the qualifying group with three Europeans—they really shuffled the qualification deck a bit here.🤮
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handball_World_Championship_qualification

As it stands, it looks like we'll be grouped with Poland and whoever else from the EP didn't make the cut—but, I guess if Qatar or some other European team ahead of us at the SP ends up grabbing those continental titles, we might end up in Group 3 with Germany and the top performers from the EP.

The Mexicans seem to be sliding into that first, easier group.

How many teams actually advance to the Olympics from the group stage—is it just the top two?

Paul Jones7 said:How many qualify for the Olympics from the group, just the top two?

Yeah, just the top two!

I mean, look—if we can't hold our own against the top two teams, I don't care who they are, we honestly don't deserve to be in the tournament at all

Because, let's be real here—we're looking at playing either the Poles (or the Germans, whatever) or some mid-tier European squad that isn't France, Spain, or Denmark—so basically, nobody who actually has an edge over us

France has become the most successful team in history, standing alone with five titles, and they’ll be hosting the next tournament too. Qatar made history as the first non-European side to grab a medal, taking home silver. I’m also happy to see Poland walk away with bronze. They struggled against Germany and Denmark, barely scraping past Russia and Argentina by just a single point. Then came the shocker—a hard-fought, well-earned win over favorites like Sweden, the US, and Spain.

Well, if you're happy now, I suppose we can call it a win, even if the whole process was a bit of a headache for me. Let's just lock this thread down. Honestly, once you've finished repeating those same old, tired clichés everyone already knows by heart, I figure there isn't much left to say. It feels like the perfect way to wrap things up here.

Vodka partibrejker 👎

Was there a more in-depth analysis provided?

A week off, then maybe I'll get around to finishing the analysis