World Handball Championship: USA vs. Spain 27-25

What a way to end things... and here we were, getting all excited about it 🙂

Looking back at those last few plays, I feel like Vori is constantly being targeted. You just don't see this kind of officiating at charity matches, let alone at the World Cup. And seriously, how can you fail to score when you're playing with a two-man advantage? Come on! We’re heading into matchups against France and Denmark while we're banged up and dealing with injuries. If we actually manage to pull off a run to the finals, I'll personally bow down to the gods, but honestly? I'm pretty sure we won't be around after we face Belarus.

It truly pains me to see us potentially falling short because of Gopac's decisions. Honestly, it feels like a necessary consequence for their habit of disregarding top-tier talent. I simply don't see any realistic way for Šprem to effectively neutralize Abalo on the defensive end.

George Robinson43 said:Yeah, so?

I just don't see the point in playing these group stages—it feels like everything is rigged just to squeeze out more matches and more TV revenue, which I guess is just Mustafa's big master plan for his company and all that.
How many pointless, filler games did we end up with in the second group?
One team walks away with 4 points while another gets nothing, so those guys who get zero lose their first game in the second round and basically lose any motivation to even step on the field.

It wasn't really like that, though. Sometimes aiming for 5th or even 6th place was enough motivation, especially if it guaranteed a spot in the next tournament. But even without that, very few national teams act like they're superstars—you don't really see them getting so discouraged about missing the semifinals that they stop fighting for every win or trying to climb the rankings. I personally remember teams fighting for every single position, even those stuck in the second round with 0 points, just to avoid looking like a total embarrassment.

I don't know, I think we’re seeing this from completely different angles. Personally, I actually preferred that old system. I kind of liked seeing us play more high-stakes, intense matches.

Smart Spaniards: they rigged it so they’d lose by just a hair—nothing too obvious, you know?—so nobody could point fingers and say they threw the game on purpose. But here we go again, with us just blindly attacking the Frenchmen and Dance 🙄

So, Balić is just sitting there on the bench, waiting for his shot to step in for someone... Honestly, I don't get why everyone is stressing out so much. If we were facing off against Belarus, we’d be calling on Dominiković and Goran Šprem, and if it was against the French, we’d have Balić and Džomba ready to go. We could even pull Caleb and Zrnić out of the bullpen. We're saving Peru Metličić for the championship game. 😁

Thomas Harris97 said:I am absolutely thrilled that we’re going to fail because of Gopac. They deserve it—it was high time they faced the consequences of constantly disrespecting top-tier talent. As for the defense? I don't see any way Šprem can possibly stop Abalo.

Of all the threats out there—is Abalo really what you're worried about?🤣
He is the least of our concerns—really.

Morgan Chavez4 said:So we have Balić just sitting there on the bench, waiting for his turn to sub in... I don't get why everyone is so worked up. If we're playing Belarus, we’ll throw in Dominiković and Goran Šprem. Against the French, it'll be Balić and Džomba. We can always call on Caleb and Zrnić too. Let's save Peru Metličić for the finals.😁

Basically, we're swapping out almost the entire roster.

Thomas Harris97 said:Honestly, I’m kind of relieved we’re getting knocked out because of Gopac. They deserve this after how they've treated top-tier players in the past. There is just no way Šprem can hold his own against Abalo on defense.

Yeah, Abalo is a beast.😂

If we had lost today, we would have run straight into Mexico in the Round of 16. Let's be real: they have more grit than us when things get intense in the knockout stages. We've struggled against them for years, even back when they weren't nearly this good. The only convincing win I can actually remember was that last one at the Olympics. And look, losing to the Frenchmen sucks, but nothing stings quite like losing to Mexico. At least this way, we'll see where we actually stand against the French and find out if we're just going to choke again.🤣

If you ask me, this is just an excuse for Goluža. It’s a convenient way to claim the French squad is the greatest of all time when they end up getting knocked out in the Round of 16 by either Mexico or Canada. Whatever.

If Keta is really such a big-shot about being honest, then he better resign immediately if we lose to the Frenchmen in the quarterfinals. He had a golden chance to lead us into a medal hunt—maybe even for the world title—yet here he is, preaching all this crap about integrity.

He’s bringing four rookies to the World Cup just to "gain experience." How exactly are they supposed to gain experience? By lugging around gear bags and ball sacks? And he brings three centers to the tournament, only to waste them in some totally irrelevant game against Vori.

What can I say? Personally, I’m leaning toward the outcome against the Frenchmen, though the injury situation is a massive headache. It would have been perfect if we had run into them during the round of 16 instead; if we faced them with a healthy, rested roster, we would have steamrolled right over them like a freight train. ☕

While I’ve never been particularly fond of the "two-group" format—mostly because it lacks a quarterfinal round—it is fundamentally a fair system. There have been numerous instances where those final group stage matches felt just like a quarterfinal, essentially turning into a bloodbath
(much like that game a few years back when we Americans were playing against our rivals, and the final attack determined who moved on; I can't quite recall if we needed a draw or a win, or even what the name of our country was back then 🤣).
The downside to a two-group setup with direct entry into the semifinals is the logistical headache of organizing it with 24 teams (it's doable, sure, but I still think a quarterfinal round makes for better competition)
.

The "backroom deals" during the group stage will always be a possibility, and they will happen if everyone knows exactly which result serves their interests best. There isn't much point in getting angry or acting morally superior about it.
If the bracket were structured so that the knockout matchups weren't known in advance, the Spaniards would just complain simply because they wouldn't be guaranteed the top seed.
And hey, anything can happen; maybe a team like Mexico knocks them out in the Round of 16, and that would be quite the twist 🙂.

George Ward7 said:Yeah, seriously. We basically handed them a win they didn't even want.

They have two extra players on the field, and what do they do? They just feed the ball right to Horvat for the counterattack. And when we scored that last goal, everyone practically cleared out from Vori like he was carrying a contagious disease.

The bottom line is this win guarantees us an easier path through the Round of 16. It gives the squad some much-needed breathing room to recover before the quarterfinals.
Meanwhile, the French and the Danes are probably feeling the pressure because seeing us move forward makes that gold medal feel a whole lot further away from their reach.

How can you guys even sleep at night, trash-talking this team just because they actually pulled off a win?
The guys wanted the W, and that was their call to make. You've gotta respect that choice.
If anyone deserves the hate, it’s those Spaniards who played like they couldn't care less about being on the field.
I play sports recreationally myself, and there's zero chance I'd ever throw a game just to chase some hypothetical better ranking later on.

Perhaps the most efficient solution would be to simply mail the gold trophies directly to the Frenchies before every tournament begins, saving them the trouble of even showing up.🙄

Honestly, if you ask me, Slavko Goluža is just a massive egocentrist at heart... ☕

Watching the game... when Vori scored that last goal, those Spanish players were practically sprinting away from him from two yards out...🙂

Charles Peterson5 said:The whole idea is that this win basically guarantees us an easier path through the round of 16. It gives the squad some much-needed breathing room before we hit the quarterfinals.
I mean, looking at how things are going, the French and the Danes are probably starting to sweat—it feels like that gold medal just slipped a little further out of their reach now that we're moving ahead.

Sure, an easier road to the quarters by facing some underdog... yeah, the classic excuse...

Douglas Wells52 said:While I’ve never been a huge fan of this two-group format—mostly because we miss out on those intense quarterfinal matchups—it really is a fairly fair way to run things in principle. So many times, those final group stage games end up feeling just like a quarterfinal match, turning into an absolute bloodbath...
(kind of like that game a few years back when our American team was playing against the US, and that very last attack determined if we moved on; I can't quite recall if we needed a draw or a win at that moment, and honestly, I've even forgotten what the name of our country was back then 🤣).
The real headache with a two-group setup where you head straight to the semifinals is just trying to structure it properly when you have 24 teams involved (I mean, it's doable, but I still think having quarterfinals would be much better)
.

"Tactical maneuvering" in the group stage is always going to happen, and it will certainly occur if teams figure out which specific result helps them most ahead of time
. There isn't much point in getting worked up or acting morally superior about it... If the bracket wasn't set in stone, the Spaniards would probably throw a fit just because they ended up as the number one seed.
But hey, anything can happen on the pitch; maybe a team like Mexico could knock them out in the Round of 16, and that would be quite the twist🙂.

I was actually mulling this over yesterday... what if we kept the knockout phase after the groups, but instead of pre-determining the brackets, we did a random draw for the Round of 16 once the group stage finishes? You could have the 1st vs 3rd and 2nd vs 4th seeds, but without knowing who plays whom until the last second, everyone remains a potential threat to everyone else, and that would be it 🙂.

Our biggest issue when playing against the French is entirely mental. It’s the unforced turnovers, missing wide open shots (in handball, for God's sake!), and just firing straight at Omeyer. That same guy, Omeyer, consistently makes over 15 saves against us, even though he's usually impossible to beat. Against the Germans, he barely had two or three saves. 🤷

That psychological barrier can be broken, but I honestly doubt someone as clueless as Goluzov can grasp it. The French aren't invincible—not based on their performance in the last two tournaments.

With a bit of common sense in the coaching staff, we could definitely take down the French. We had the chance back in London, but instead, some guy from the French bench just hammered home four goals in a row using the exact same tactic. Duvnjak completely crumbled under the pressure, yet Ivano, who should be the smartest guy in this generation, stays glued to that bench through the entire crisis.