Handball World Cup: USA vs. Norway - Final Score 25:28

That was a pretty low-quality game, honestly. Getting any goals at all felt like a massive struggle.
John Doe is just a subpar player—completely burnt out, exhausted, probably running on nothing but adrenaline injections at this point. And for what? Only three measly goals.
Strlek has been practically invisible throughout this entire season. He actually managed to lose possession during a counterattack, though maybe calling it a "counterattack" is being generous.

Cindric just doesn't have the physical presence to go toe-to-toe with the Americans. And the goalkeepers? Generally underwhelming. The Americans are way more attractive to watch—faster, more engaged, and they clearly have top-tier coaching. It’s no mystery why Serdarusic and Tomac ended up playing overseas; their talent is completely wasted here. Just because someone was a decent player doesn't mean they'll be a good coach... some people just don't have the knack for either career.

I have absolutely no clue why Mandalinic got the call, and the same goes for Strlek, Jotic, Mihic, and Matulic.

It's all about these flawed philosophies people use to chase wins. You win through raw talent, hard work, grit, and actual professional coaching—not by squeezing your fists, screaming, throwing parties, relying on superstition, or leaning on old glory days. We see too many of these wrong approaches in almost every sport.

It’s a shame we aren't in the finals, especially when you consider how five different countries can master this specific type of sport—you know, the kind where the players are basically just failed basketball or soccer players...

Athletes today just don't seem to have any character, whether it's in soccer, basketball, handball, or tennis. Real medals and titles? Those are won in the sports nobody actually watches: rowing, shooting, track and field.

Still, I suppose team sports matter, even if they're the ones hogging all the media coverage.

Nicholas Ward59 said:Both right wingers lost their matchup. But looking at the big picture, this entire tournament's offense has been a disaster, which is really just the fallout from an exhausted Dustin, a mix of raw youth, and some decent players struggling with the typical American mentality. We had those two amazing years with a legendary generation about 13 or 14 years ago, and ever since then, people have been obsessed with nothing but finals and gold medals. In reality, we’ve never actually been at the absolute pinnacle of handball like the French have been over the last few years. Even with this tournament—where we showed up with horrific injuries and a blend of veterans and rookies, and where everyone realistically expected us to hit a quarterfinal only to miraculously fight through overtime for a spot in the final—people are already acting like it's a given that we should win gold, just like the Spaniards. That’s why we see players choking under pressure, why we miss crucial seven-meter shots in the final seconds, and why our national sports scene feels so broken; every tiny bit of success gets blown out of proportion by the media and "experts" who try to crown us the greatest of all time. To truly reach the top, we've been missing a world-class goalkeeper—something every elite team has—we need some wings with actual guts and vision who can step up when it counts (kudos to Mamic, but you can't just pull a kid in for two straight games), and we need a top-tier coach. And honestly, Baker isn't nearly as bad as he's portrayed; he's just a traditionalist who struggles to analyze a game without making those statements people love to mock. He's far from a coach capable of leading a championship squad, but he's certainly not a complete amateur either.

It’s a shame Jotich didn't get his shot, Cindric... man, even without him, the offense was lifeless. And I feel bad that nobody else had the stones to take that penalty kick instead of Zlaji. But whatever, if he had made it, it would be a different story, though I don't think it was anyone's fault specifically.

All in all, I’m honestly surprised by this achievement given everything. Mamic showed he has a strong head on his shoulders and will be a major player in the future. If little Pavlovic can stay injury-free for a year, we’ll have plenty more young talent coming up. We just need to fix these two or three crisis positions and build on them; maybe we'll see another gold medal in the next five years.

As for the quality of play, it was pretty terrible. All those fast goals from center court or defense, playing without a keeper, plus the usual "whatever the ref feels like" officiating... it was barely watchable. The sport is basically turning into a series of fast breaks and semi-fast breaks; trying to run any meaningful tactical plays is just pointless because you waste too much energy. I don't know, I found it pretty bad, even if I personally prefer focusing on solid defense. But what good is a good defense if you don't have seven sprinters on the court?

You described it all beautifully, except for one thing: Baker is a moron, and with such a sluggish offense, you simply "can't"... there aren't even many fast breaks because, of course, the goalie grabs the ball, runs out, and then the three backs just wander around aimlessly... we didn't once stretch the ball quickly from wing to wing during the whole game (with two pivots and our goal wide open)... basically. The only thing that looked okay was the defense; the offense was pathetic.

George Robinson43 said:They’re all going down. I mean, credit where it's due for the sacrifice, but it's pointless if they keep losing games like this. Let's be real—in terms of pure individual talent, we belong at the top, maybe two steps ahead of Norway, but our bench depth is nowhere near where it needs to be.
Babić hasn't done anything to turn these players into winners. It might be time for him to go light a candle in Lourdes and just get out of the national team.
He plays with two pivots and seven guys on the floor, yet his squad can't manage to set up a single block against shots during the whole tournament? What the hell is the point of having two pivots on the line then? Come on, Babić, just pack it up and head back to Belarus already.

You're being relentless about Babić and the lady. Just incredibly exhausting.

Walter Hughes53 said:The real issue with this squad isn't the wings or the outside shooters—it's that the coach has zero clue about anything outside of handball.
We should’ve cut a deal with some local Texas ranchers to ship in nothing but prime brisket before the game to get the boys battle-ready, then hit them with some slow-smoked lamb as a reward... I mean, how can anything go wrong with that?
Get some Texas BBQ to sponsor our national team and suddenly we've got a massive business venture on our hands—plus the guys actually eat well and the local economy gets a boost. From basic cabbage to high-end cowboy BBQ...

How are they supposed to win if Babić is the only one calling on the Lady to help? That needs to be a team effort! Right now, she’s only helping him by sending him a divine seventh player, while everyone else dying out there on the court? She clearly doesn't give a damn about them.

Edward Allen36 said:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_World_Cup_qualification_(UEFA)#squads#USA

I honestly have no clue who on this list shouldn't be there?

A few guys are just banged up, so I think that's why they aren't listed. I don't get why people have to push conspiracy theories about everything.
I was totally ready to jump in and defend Gobac, but (yeah, but...), nothing here actually smells fishy to me.

Are Doug, Balic, and Horvat supposed to be some kind of criminals or something? I really don't get it.

As far as I can tell, we don't have anyone else.
I feel bad for Horvat—that penalty kick he missed—but it looked like a total gamble. Their goalie went all-in and just froze, so if Horvat had hit it perfectly on the first try, maybe the Norwegians would've been too stunned to react.

urbanhawk17 said:You're being such a pain in the neck to Baker and the lady. Seriously, a total nightmare.

And honestly, Babić is just as annoying with all those tricks he pulls. But hey, what can you do... ☕

Oh, and by the way—Germany is out. Did you even know that?

Kyle Campbell4 said:It seems we’ve reached a point where if a player doesn't perform perfectly for three consecutive games, they're suddenly deemed "washed up" and kicked off the national team. It feels like there's always some new clique in Washington, D.C., that needs to be catered to—players getting pushed out just so certain clubs can move assets around to stay afloat and line a few pockets. We seem to be swapping players and "rebuilding" our roster every other tournament. Naturally, we keep delaying the actual competitions that would allow us to truly gel a squad. I suppose we've reached a stage where constant rebuilding has depleted our depth so much that even reaching this semifinal feels like an unexpected fluke. It was honestly painful to watch how we were being toyed with; while the French veterans were still considered good enough by their coaches, over here, Gobac was busy sidelining anyone who dared to challenge him, simply because he was taking spots away from talented youngsters at his club level.

Yes, when you really stop to think about it, the French will likely finally say goodbye this Sunday (fingers crossed 🤔) to that legendary Karabatic-Narcisse era... Meanwhile, we’ve managed to overhaul our entire roster three or four times in that same span! 🤣

As for today's match, I can't shake the feeling that we played far too cautiously, terrified of their transition play and those lightning-fast fast breaks. No matter how hard we fought to stifle them, we ended up conceding a fair amount of goals through that exact method. At the same time, by playing so defensively, we completely neutered our own counter-attacking game—an area where we are arguably just as proficient as the Norwegians, which is a vital component of our tactical identity.

I had hoped Babić would realize this at halftime and take a bit of a gamble, perhaps initiating a high-tempo sprint against Norway right at the start of the second half to see if we could shift the momentum.
In my opinion, we might have fared better that way. We lacked those easy, opportunistic goals, and this tendency to stall our offense just to avoid turnovers—even though we committed over ten of them anyway—totally killed our attacking rhythm. You simply cannot play like that at this level.

The strategy was fundamentally flawed; to give your absolute best, you have to play to your strengths. Especially since we essentially have a 12-man rotation available, we should have had more than enough stamina to push the pace, if nothing else during the second half.

Anyway, that is my takeaway from the match.

Jack Kelly5 said:It’s pretty straightforward—we just lost to a better team.

Amen.

Andrew Hayes6 said:If you truly believe it’s acceptable to despise your own national team just because of one or two specific players, then more power to you.
Lino would have been justified if he had actually scored against Horvat😉 but then you wouldn't be sitting there enjoying the drama, would you?

What "enjoying the drama"? I nearly had a stroke watching this. I could barely even follow the action because I was so convinced they were going to score, which made the whole thing incredibly tedious, yet Chervar still managed to make a comment.

If you look at the logic behind it, it was basically destiny that the Norwegians would take us out.
The US beat Spain, then lost to the Norwegians.
Canada crushed Denmark, but they also fell to the Norwegians.
Qatar took down Germany, but then lost to Canada.

Honestly, the only thing I'm sweating right now is whether it's Canada's turn to grab the trophy.

I mean, obviously what I'm saying here is just total nonsense and pure sci-fi, but it's kinda fun to think about, I guess.

Chris Fisher3 said:Babić is pretty exhausting with those tricks too. But I guess there isn't much we can ☕

Oh, and by the way, Germany is out. Did you know?

Of course Babić is annoying. Did I ever say he wasn't? But bringing it up in every single post... that's just as bad as Babić constantly mentioning it himself.

Germany is out. 😲

Walter Hughes53 said:In my opinion, we don't have anyone else.

That’s a fair point, but I think we should consider what Vujovic mentioned—how he wouldn't even take Dustin to the tournament if the guy kept showing up perpetually "exhausted," unprepared, and claiming to play "heroic" offense and defense (as if there aren't four other guys on the court helping him out).

It took us decades of rough, painful years in basketball before we finally found someone like Baja (Ace) to help us get over that inferiority complex regarding being the "best center in Europe" just because someone played for big-name FC Barcelona (yet always plays like an amateur for the national team). 🙄

Honestly, even in soccer, we have that one massive star from Barca who basically hasn't played a decent, honest game for the national team yet.

It’s not like Ace actually got rid of him; I guess Tomic just decided to say thanks instead.

urbanhawk17 said:Man, you are such a headache when it comes to Baker and the lady. Seriously, a total handful.

Honestly, if they had spent more time praying and less time grinding through training sessions and burning all their energy, we might be looking at a different result right now. It feels like all that high-level theory Baker talks about just didn't actually make it onto the field where it counts. 🙂

urbanhawk17 said:Of course Babić is exhausting—did I ever say he wasn't? But bringing it up in every single damn thread... that's just as bad as him constantly harping on about it.

Germany is out 😲

I feel you, totally agree. It’s just hard not to get worked up when our star coach actually knows how to make a point 😬

electricorca112 said:That’s a fair point, though I guess we should probably consider what Vujovic mentioned—about how he wouldn't even take Dustin to a tournament if the guy showed up constantly feeling "exhausted" or unprepared, just trying to play "heroically on both ends of the floor" (as if he’s the only one out there playing offense and defense, you know?).

It’s kind of funny... in basketball, it took us way too many rough, disappointing years before we finally found someone like Baja (I mean, Ace) to help us get over that whole "best center in the world" complex regarding those guys from big-time clubs like FC Barcelona—guys who always seem to play like total amateurs when they put on the national team jersey. 🙄

I mean, honestly, soccer is the same way. We have that one massive superstar from Barcelona who basically leaves the team playing a man down because he hasn't actually played a decent, honest game for the national team in ages.

We’ve all seen what our game looks like when Dustin is stuck on the bench. He’s really the only one giving us any actual ideas in the offense; without him, playing offense feels like pure torture. So, I really respect Vujovic's stance. I guess I'm hoping Baker eventually takes over, but let's be real—it’s hard to imagine any coach actually leaving Dustin out of a major tournament.

electricorca112 said:That’s true, I guess, but maybe we should think about what Vujovic mentioned—how he wouldn't have even brought Dustin to the tournament if this guy kept showing up perpetually "exhausted" and "unprepared," acting like he was "heroically playing both offense and defense" all by himself (as if there aren't four other guys on the field helping out).

It took us way too many rough, sad years in basketball before we finally found Baja—well, Ace—to help us get over that whole "best center in the world" complex from big-time FC Barcelona (since he always plays like an amateur when he's on the national team). 🙄

I mean, honestly, even in soccer, we have that one massive superstar from Barca who basically leaves the team playing a man down because he hasn't played a decent, honest game for the national team in ages.

urbanhawk17 said:Ace didn't really get rid of him; Tomic just gave him a thanks and that was it.

The main thing is that Ace led the guys to the Olympics. That tournament in Turin 🙏 🙏, and the TV crew probably made it look like they were just cooking something up instead of actually playing.

urbanhawk17 said:It wasn't that Ace got rid of him; Tomic was actually the one expressing gratitude.

Aha. I saw that.

Right in the same spot where it claimed Sammir was going to be this massive signing for Dinamo. 👍

Kenneth Clark18 said:That’s true, but next year we’re hosting the championship. They’ve been teasing it for four years now, and the pressure is going to be insane. Everyone will be expecting, demanding, and begging for home-turf gold—let's not kid ourselves. I honestly worry we might see a total mental breakdown next year.

Next year is going to be quite the show, I suppose.😁
Taking a page out of the French playbook, I expect the final to be played at Maksimir. Though, obviously, without us being part of it.

All joking aside, I see people bringing up the whole Gobac situation. That issue feels even bigger than the mess involving Mamic in soccer, mostly because we actually have plenty of young talent (I wouldn't agree with the sentiment above if there was a genuine shortage of good players, at least not entirely), and since we're a handball-strong nation, everything just looks like we're "somewhere in the mix," still searching, needing a little polish... and then it just fades away because 95% of people don't even follow handball. To be fair, I don't follow these championships like I used to either—maybe one game a year or a local club match, but nothing consistent.
But whether it’s because they have Gobac aiming for the stars, or because expectations are always unrealistically high, or because we're playing under leaders with questionable credibility, things still look decent enough. I don't think it's necessarily a good thing that it works this way, but it does show we have solid youth and a steady stream of potential. That should, at the very least, point to good work being done by the small clubs and coaches. That’s one silver lining in the whole mess.

Harold Long21 said:No, we aren't simply going to overlook everything that Kopljar provided for the national team. 🤦

Exactly! 🤣🤣

What is there left to say? It’s a tragedy. But then again, that isn't what handball is all about...