World Handball Championship - THE FINALS

Mark Howard7 said:The way the International Handball Federation runs things is just on a whole different level of absurdity! They’re basically letting this legion of foreign players take over national teams while simultaneously handing them massive officiating favors. It’s exactly what the Mexican team pulled off on the world stage. Honestly, it’s no shock at all that the Poles ended up getting absolutely screwed by the refs. Even though they basically handed themselves a loss on a silver platter today by messing up their own defensive rotations and letting the keepers down, I still think there's a silver lining to be found somewhere. Man, at this rate, we might actually pull off taking fourth place!

Honestly, Boldano hit the nail right on the head, and everything else I have to say is basically just noise at this point... if we were actually playing with any kind of real intensity, a serious squad would have easily hung a 5 or 6 goal lead on the Poles with a defense like the one we're seeing right now. ☕

This is exactly why the European Championship is the only true measure of strength in handball. You just don't see this kind of garbage at the continental level.

I’d offer my congratulations to Qatar, I really would, but it’s hard to do that when there isn't a single American in their lineup.

Though, I’m hoping France absolutely destroys them, and does it quickly.

Poland would have never even touched a semifinal if they hadn't run into us. Qatar deserved the win.

People talk about this team like they just assembled an All-Star squad, but let's be real—aside from the goalie, they’re just a bunch of second-rate players.

It’s almost too predictable at this point; ever since 2012, excluding the host nation at the Olympics, they always seem to land in the finals. I mean, sure, you can't really argue with Spain or Denmark, but still...

Qatar. 🙏
It is like watching a group of mid-tier mercenaries fighting for the title in the World Cup finals. 🤣

Given how poorly the Poles performed in the semifinals, Qatar really needs to step up their game and fly high.

Man, that’s just brutal for the French

🙂🙂🙂

I just hope this whole absurd situation plays out to its logical conclusion—maybe let Qatar take home the 👍 trophy after all. Honestly, I'd rather see them win than have the French grab it! :koihjebe:

mellowotter36 said:People talk as if they’ve assembled an All-Star squad rather than a second-rate group, goalkeeper notwithstanding.

Exactly. Based on these comments, one might assume everything has been handed to them on a silver platter, despite the fact that they legitimately advanced through the group after taking down Germany and Poland.
Valero Rivera has done an excellent job, and their performance hasn't been poor at all.
Of course, that is the perspective from the court. The financial side of things is quite another matter.

tapatalk/good old 4.9.5

Pure comedy.

Imagine living in Katy. You’ve never heard of any sport besides football. Then some sheikh comes by on a business trip through Europe and starts talking about handball. You still have zero clue what that even is, but you end up with a few thousand bucks and a Qatari flag just to cheer on some Canadians in the finals.

That Middle East is something else.

We really should have dropped some cash to get Qatar into at least the semifinals of the 2022 World Cup👍
before those odds started plummeting

Robert Doyle8 said:Basic point. Based on these comments, you'd think they were just handed everything on a silver platter, even though they legitimately cleared the group stage and knocked out Germany and Poland.
Rivera did an incredible job, and honestly, they aren't playing poorly at all.
Of course, that’s just looking at it from a handball perspective. The financial side is a completely different story.

tapatalk/good old 4.9.5

Their actual play isn't the issue here. The real problem is that their roster is composed entirely of foreign players.

It’s honestly pretty distasteful, considering this is supposed to be a national sport.

Man, those are just the rules. What’s there to complain about? This stuff has been happening in Europe forever anyway. I mean, Puc moved between three different countries, Rutenka did it three times, and Šterbik has jumped around several...

And don't even get me started on that Italian futsal squad from a few years back—they were basically playing with twelve Brazilians on the court.

The folks in Qatar have all the cash, so they just bought their way in, spent a little time getting some chemistry going, and boom—here are the results.

Kenneth Clark18 said:Pure comedy.

Just picture it—you’re living in Qatar. You haven't heard of anything besides football. Then some sheikh comes back from a business trip to Europe and starts talking your ear off about handball. You still have zero clue what the hell that actually is, but suddenly you've got a few thousand bucks in your pocket and a Qatari flag to wave while cheering on some Canadian guys in the finals.

The Middle East is really something else, isn't it?

There's always another side to the story, though.

Now, try explaining it to a local who's just there to mess around at a handball match for a quick paycheck—how they're supposed to care about people playing for nothing, when those people are actually spending their own money to be there. 🤷

You just have to wonder... what kind of lunatics are we dealing with here? 🙂 🐔 😵 😁

Qatar has become the first non-European squad in World Championship history to walk away with a medal. It’s great to see handball expanding beyond Europe, but I have my doubts about how they actually secured that podium spot. Makes you wonder, though—will this group of mercenaries stay together for the next tournament, or was this all just a one-off push for a home-court victory? To be fair, the referees didn't hand it to them; they earned their way to the finals. Still, none of these hired guns are major stars from top European clubs, with the sole exception of Šarić playing for Barcelona.

Paul Jones7 said:There is another side to this story.

Now try explaining it to some Qatari who just showed up to mess around with handball because there’s money in it—they’re basically throwing their own cash away just to play around.🤷

You really have to wonder what kind of idiots🙂 🐔 😵 😁

It’s incomparable. Handball is a European sport with decades of tradition.

Who in Qatar had even heard of handball two months ago?

Samuel Parker said:Qatar is the first non-European team in World Championship history to grab a medal. I guess it’s good for handball to expand beyond Europe, but I really don't like how they managed to get there. I honestly wonder if these mercenaries will even stay together for the next tournament, or if everything was just bought for one big home-turf run. The refs didn't hand them the finals; they earned their spot. None of those hired players are actually stars from major European clubs, except for Šarić from Barcelona.

Expanding the game this way isn't right.

Let's be real here. Qatar won't accomplish anything ever again after this.

Maybe Brazil might pull an upset in Rio, but they aren't going for gold.

The only teams worth shaking hands with are Brazil and Argentina. Forget about Qatar and groups like them.

This whole thing feels gross. In handball, the host nation should basically be guaranteed a spot in at least the semifinals, not just occasionally making the finals. This squad is going to play in the Olympics and against Qatar, and honestly? They’ll never win another World Championship again.🤣

I’m calling it now—expect to see Brazil in the Olympic semifinals next year.

Let’s go watch this massive game :klap:

But didn't Narcisse retire with a bit of a grudge a few years back?

The pace is relentless—just a non-stop barrage of goals.