European Championship Final: Sweden vs. Spain – Budapest, 6:00 PM

What an absolutely brutal day for handball. 🙏

I’m honestly thrilled the Swedes took the win. 🙏🙏

The feed just cut out for a second. 🙏

Celavi threw the game—first by blaming himself and then by handing over that penalty 🤦

Kudos to the Swedes; they had the crowd behind them in the closing minutes.
Palicka 🙏 is easily the most formidable name in goalkeeping.

Exactlyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy 🙏 🙏 🙏
Sweden finally sitting on top of Europe 🎉 🎉 🙂 🙂

🙂

It’s actually kind of nice seeing a player from the Swedish team getting this hyped up.

Regarding those last two timeouts
It seems more like the players are giving the speeches rather than the coaches—honestly, I'm baffled.
Those Swedes basically carried their own weight through the entire round.

A gift of a penalty, though we shall refrain from complaining. 🙂

I am quite pleased for the Swede.
A solid, balanced squad; aside from Gotfridson, they lack any standout superstars, yet they progressed through the tournament with remarkable consistency. A well-earned gold medal.

The refs basically handed the win to Sweden on a silver platter. That penalty was a total gift, and they completely missed that blatant foul on Canellas right before the play started.

Thomas Martin4 said:How can they call it passive play immediately after the timeout?

Well, it is simply because they had already been on the attack for twenty seconds before the timeout was called...

In my opinion, the call was perfectly legitimate, and those Spaniards couldn't pull any cheap tricks past the refs this time...

Raymond Anderson4 said:The refs handed that win straight to Sweden; that wasn't even a penalty, and they completely ignored that blatant foul on Canellas during the buildup...

That penalty was such a gift, though it looked pretty clear to me... He practically threw his whole body into him on purpose. If there’s any debate at all, it would be about the earlier foul on Canellas, but that seems to have been the standard they were using all game...

It’s honestly a joke how much things fall apart at this level of the game. One minute a Spaniard like Canellas makes a play, the next he’s just throwing the ball away because he knows it’s coming right back to the 9m line, and then this guy 🙏... it's enough to make you want to turn off the TV.
I guess I'm happy for the Swedes, though. 🙂

shadowcobra89 said:It’s because they already had possession before that 20-second timeout...

In my view, everything was called correctly. The Spaniards didn't get away with any dirty tactics this time.

What kind of dirty tactics? Personally, I think they played a solid game today.
Is it "dirty tactics" when the ball hits Palicka in the shoulder, but he acts like it hit him in the head just to trick the refs into giving Spain a 2-minute penalty?

So, something new is brewing. If my memory serves me right—and it often doesn't—we might be looking at a fresh offensive following that period... or perhaps not?

Sent from my iPhone via Reddit

shadowcobra89 said:That penalty was a gift—crystal clear. He dove straight into him on purpose. The only debatable part might have been the foul on Ali Canellas earlier, but they’ve been calling it that way all game.

Honestly, Ali Canellas barely even brushed against the Swede. If you watch the replay, it’s obvious. The Swede tried to loop around him, realized he’d lost his shooting angle, and just threw himself down.
And that call on Ali Canellas? That was a double whammy 🤣 one where he pulled the jersey, and another where he collided with the player.

Thomas Martin4 said:So we're looking at something new here. If I recall correctly, there was a fresh offensive push right after that timeout... or am I misremembering?

No, it was never a "new" attack; the momentum just keeps rolling forward...

I’m taking another look at the footage now, and honestly, there isn't much to debate regarding those seven-point plays, because they were textbook executions... there's simply no arguing with that kind of precision...

Then you have the fouls on Cenalleas during both the first and second steps, only for them to let him take an uncontested third shot... anyone who has ever stepped foot inside an American arena knows that's just not how the game is supposed to be called...

By the way, we saw a similar situation in the first half today where a Swede reached out and grabbed a Spaniard's shooting arm. Porte got tossed with a red card for that nonsense, yet today, this guy just goes right into the hand.
For some bizarre reason, the Spaniard didn't even complain, which felt incredibly off—it was easily the most glaring oversight of the entire game. And honestly, this kind of thing carries the most weight when things come down to the wire.

shadowcobra89 said:They fouled Cenalleas on both the first and second steps. Then they just let him shoot the third one wide open. I mean, anyone who’s ever stepped foot in an arena knows that's just not how it works.

🤣

Jack Miller6 said:🤣

Could you please explain exactly what you find so amusing? The idea that he should have received a soft foul during that passive play in the 60th minute... it’s almost as if he expected special treatment just because his brother was officiating the game...

Why don't you just come back in January next year...

That win was just absolutely clinical, man. No shady business or playing dirty this time around—it actually went down clean.
The fact that everyone’s whining about it being rigged honestly just makes the victory taste even sweeter.
👋

Jack Kelly5 said:That was a clean win. No dirty tactics or questionable calls this time.
Complaining about robbery just makes the victory taste even sweeter.
👋

Jesus, the Spaniards weren't playing dirty at all today. You should really rewatch the game. Honestly, both sides played a fair match.

I was pulling for the Swedes, but from where I was sitting, it was obvious the refs handed the win over to Spain on a silver platter.
Those final two minutes were basically a gift to the Spaniards—everything went their way, from that missed call when they broke through Abel, to that premature whistle during the attack, then ignoring a blatant foul, and finally awarding that ridiculous contact in the dying seconds to decide who becomes the FIFA World Cup final winner.
The officiating at the end was just shameful.

You have to tip your hat to Ribéry; he managed to squeeze absolute miracles out of this roster, but trying to blame the decision not to put Vargas in goal is just reaching. Keeping Corales in until the 45th minute made no sense given he’d only made five saves by then, especially considering how clearly Vargas shut down Dance just two days ago...