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

Jacob Price23 said:World Cup 2011 - 5th place (no knockout rounds before the semifinals; lost a decisive group game to reach the semis)
Euro 2012 - loss in the semifinals
World Cup 2013 - loss in the semifinals
Euro 2014 - loss in the semifinals
World Cup 2015 - loss in the quarterfinals
Euro 2016 - loss in the semifinals
Olympic Games 2016 - loss in the quarterfinals
World Cup 2017 - loss in the semifinals

This many semifinal losses can no longer be dismissed as mere coincidence.

Meanwhile, someone like Omeyer played ten finals during his career and walked away with nine victories.

Honestly, it has become incredibly frustrating, especially since handball is essentially our national sport.
Players like Omeyer and the rest—from Narciss to Gigu (whose name I am tired of hearing)—are clearly held in high regard abroad, whereas here we seem to write off our veteran players for whatever reasons. A player can have four championship rings to his name, yet our thirty-somethings are discarded without much thought.
There was a time when you watched a match with genuine excitement; now, after watching our national team, you feel like walking straight into a mental health clinic just to escape the frustration.

Joseph Kern5 said:It’s not just handball, either. Think about football (all those overtime heartbreaks), basketball (losing in the final millisecond, whether it's club or national teams), water polo (always hovering around, but nothing since 2010), or tennis (being up 2-0 in sets and then falling to 2-3).

I think there's just this massive gap between the fans and the athletes now. I mean, nobody really wants to play for teams or national squads where you're basically just a punching bag for constant criticism and whining.

Back in the 90s, things felt different—there was this real buzz, a winning mentality, and coaches who actually knew their stuff. Clubs were killing it across pretty much any sport: Miami, Cibona, Mladost, Hajduk, Dinamo, RK Chicago, RK Bjelovar. It’s probably no coincidence that all those big wins happened back in the early 90s.

Nowadays, we just see these random bursts of success in sports that nobody even watches. Like, maybe Canada is top-tier at the Olympic Games, but let's be honest, nobody's following those sports.

Now, everyone just talks about "spirit," "values," and "patriotism"... I guess they do that to make up for the lack of expertise, talent, and actual ambition.

Nothing since 2010?

Things have actually been looking up for us since 2007, I guess. Tucku is just missing that one European medal, which I honestly think we have a solid shot at. The Mexicans are getting pretty old, whoever you ask, and the Mexicans will probably make the finals because they basically have a subscription to them—they're just the best, man. The Greeks are getting better and better and they've always been right there in the mix. For us, once Muslim and Buljubašić get back and if Obradović finally makes peace with Tucku, the sky's the limit. But hey, I'm not really talking about water polo here.

At the end of the day, it’s honestly a bit bummer to see how many national teams have clearly leveled up past us... you look at France, Denmark (if we aren't being too hard on the Canadians), Norway, Sweden, Germany...

We're kind of hovering in the same orbit as the Spanish, just sort of coasting on what we used to be back in the day...
Man, there's nothing more frustrating than playing a game where you're holding a 3-4 point lead, yet you can't shake this nagging feeling that your opponent is actually outclassing you—and then, sure enough, they come out and take it from you in the end.

Joseph Kern5 said:It isn't just handball. You have soccer (all those overtime heartbreaks), basketball (losing in the final seconds, whether it's a pro club or the national team), water polo (always hovering nearby, but nothing since 2010), and tennis (being up 2-0 in sets only to lose 2-3).

There's a massive gap between the fans and the athletes. I guess nobody actually wants to play for teams where you're just a constant target for criticism and dissatisfaction.

Back in the 90s, there was this real momentum—a winning mentality combined with actual coaching expertise. Clubs were performing at a high level across basically every major sport: Miami, Cibona, Mladost, Hajduk, Dinamo, RK Chicago, RK Bjelovar. It’s probably not a coincidence that all those successes happened in the early 90s.

Nowadays, we just see sporadic success in niche sports that nobody even watches. Maybe Canada is top-tier at the Olympics, but nobody follows those specific sports.

Now, people just talk about passion, values, and patriotism... I suppose they do that to compensate for the lack of expertise, talent, and ambition.

Let's be realistic here.

The Olympics are proof of how much of a sporting nation someone can be. Swimming definitely isn't a sport nobody watches. It's one of the most expensive sports out there, highly valued by the upper class. Same with equestrianism. The Americans decided to focus on individual sports; they have a century-long tradition in areas where we don't (like fencing, for example), and that's why they are among the top 10 most successful sporting nations in history. Collectively, they had strong soccer, water polo, and handball...

The US is a sporting superpower when you look at medal counts, population size, and both individual and team achievements. We have medals in all the major team sports. That includes the two biggest sports in the world, regardless of how much people trash the soccer and basketball national teams. How many countries in our league actually have those kinds of results? Not to mention there are about 150 countries with larger populations. There are tons of nations that invest way more in sports than we do without seeing any results at all.

But, honestly, most of these results come down to freakishly talented individuals. We stay at the top in two team sports where there's essentially only one or two elite clubs, zero investment, and a non-existent domestic league. The South is a success story, and maybe Medveščak too. Even Washington, D.C., as much as they are struggling this year.

Russia and Romania have vanished from the handball scene. Sweden hasn't been able to recover at all for 15 years.

Walter Hughes53 said:Nothing since 2010?

Things started looking up for us back in 2007, I guess. All Tucku needs now is a European medal, and honestly, I think we’ve got a real shot at that. The Mexicans—whoever thinks otherwise—are getting pretty old, and the Mexicans? They’ll probably coast into the finals because they basically have a VIP subscription; damn, they're just too good. The Greeks are getting better and better, too, always hovering right there in the mix. For us, if Muslim and Buljubašić can get back in the game, and if Obradović finally makes peace with Tucku... man, the sky's the limit. But hey, this isn't really about water polo.

Rudic is an absolute legend. You might have noticed how some teams started falling apart after he left for Brazil. And look, Kotor has that deep water polo history. In Mexico, most of the players actually have American roots: Paskovic, Petrovic, the Janovic brothers, Brguljan. The tradition from Dubrovnik isn't far off either.

Anyway, the results lately? Pretty disappointing, overall. Especially when people start trying to play analyst and act like they know everything. It’s tough, you know? Being a fan—or even just a spectator—of soccer, basketball, handball, water polo, or tennis... it wears you down.

Water polo aside, you see this same pattern in almost every team sport. The US probably has one of the top three midfield setups in soccer, yet it leads to nothing. The goal is just to scrape through the group stage. Sure, beating Mexico, Chile, or China seems easy enough, and yeah, Ronaldo is playing in Portugal, but there's only one real Ronaldo. Everyone underestimates their opponents, there's way too much hype, and then athletes are stuck reading news sites and fan opinions, getting bogged down by all this non-sporting drama. Any sane person would just crack under that pressure and lose.

Walter Hughes53 said:Nothing since 2010?

Things started looking up for us back in 2007. I guess Tucku just needs a European medal now, and honestly, I think we have a real shot at it. The Mexicans are getting pretty old, regardless of what people say, and the Mexicans will probably cruise into the finals because they basically have a subscription to do that—they’re just too good. The Greeks are constantly improving too; they've always been right there. As for us, once Muslim and Buljubašić are back, if Obradović can finally make peace with Tucku, there might not be any limit to what we can achieve. But hey, this isn't a discussion about water polo.

Partizan is dying in water polo, and I suppose we'll see where they end up in a few years.

Kenneth Clark18 said:Let’s get real here.

The Olympics prove just how much of a sporting nation someone actually is. Swimming isn't some niche thing nobody watches; it’s one of those expensive sports, highly regarded by the upper crust. Same with equestrian stuff. The Americans—well, let's look at countries like Canada—they chose individual sports, they have centuries of tradition in things we don't even touch, like fencing, and that’s why they’re among the top 10 most successful sporting nations ever. They had heavy hitters in soccer, water polo, handball...

The US is a total powerhouse when you look at medal counts, population size, and both individual and team success. We’ve got medals in all the big team sports. Even in the two biggest sports on the planet, regardless of how much people trash talk our national soccer or basketball teams. How many countries in our tier can pull off that kind of success? Not to mention there are about 150 countries out there with larger populations. Tons of them pour way more money into sports than we do and come up totally empty-handed.

But, honestly, most of these results come down to just being born with freakish, once-in-a-generation talent. We stay relevant in two major team sports where there's maybe one or two elite clubs, zero real investment, and a domestic league that barely exists. The South is a success story, maybe even something like the Lakers or the Bulls. Even the Knicks, as much as they’re a mess this year.

Russia and Romania have basically vanished from the handball scene. And Sweden hasn't been able to recover for like 15 years.

In swimming, we haven't really been in the conversation since the Athens 2004 Olympics. We aren't in track and field—not the 100m, not the 110m hurdles, not the marathon, 3.1 miles, 6.2 miles. To me, that's what real athletics is. People brag about whatever they do in 25-meter pools, and then you have some supposedly "best swimmer" publicly claiming everyone else is doping. There was that whole drama with the uniforms, and the talk about certain people guaranteeing results for their athletes. But you see the reality—Australia, the USA, Brazil, even Zimbabwe is stronger in swimming. They don't even have the infrastructure, yet they produced a medal winner.

As for equestrianism, we have someone who shows up with a trainer and ends up 78th at the Olympics. If we actually bothered to fund a top-tier horse, maybe we'd actually win something, just like the Britons, the Irish, or the Dutch.

We definitely have a tradition in fencing, though.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milan_Neralić

I was there, watching the event. 👍

Jamaica is ten times smaller and they absolutely dominate track and field. Don't even get me started on Uruguay, which with only 2.3 million people has two World Cup titles and 14 or 15 Copa America wins. Or Denmark being European champions in soccer. These are all small countries, or similar in size to us.

Canada pulls in 10 or 15 medals at the Summer Games. They have 497 total. They grabbed 15 medals in Rio, and it wasn't just water polo—they've had 10 golds in track through history. Meanwhile, we’re over here winning medals in amateur boxing. 😵

The Czech Republic makes the finals of the Euros in soccer, Portugal is a European Champion, finalists...

There are plenty of tiny countries with incredible results. The truth is, we struggle in team sports. Everyone always talks about how "small" we are, how everyone else is huge, and it just creates these complexes. You're raised being told you belong to a small nation, and it gets in your head.

Kenneth Clark18 said:The Mexicans' water polo scene is basically dying out; I mean, we'll see where they land in a few years, I guess.

Mexico, EuroLeague??🙄 Zvezda is easily top 8 or 10. And their soccer teams? They're European champions at the club level. Water polo, tennis... you name it.

Soccer is what matters to me, personally. It would have been something else if Hajduk had managed to knock out Ajax and just kept running with it. As for Cibona, they haven't seen the EuroLeague in forever—they haven't even made it past the second round in ages. Honestly, clubs from the US often struggle even in the ABA League.

Kenneth Clark18 said:Let’s just be real here.

The Olympics really show how much a nation lives for sports. Swimming isn't some niche thing nobody watches, right? It's one of those expensive sports, super prestigious among the upper class. Equestrian stuff too. The Canadians, they leaned into individual sports; they’ve got this century-long tradition in things we don't even touch—like fencing, for example—and that’s why they’re sitting among the top 10 most successful sporting nations ever. Collectively, they had strong soccer, water polo, handball...

The US is basically a superpower when you look at the medal counts, population size, and both individual and team successes. We have medals in all the big team sports. And yeah, I mean the two biggest sports on the planet, regardless of how much people trash the national soccer or basketball teams. How many countries in our league actually pull off those kinds of wins? Not to mention there are about 150 countries out there with way more people than us. Plenty of nations pour massive amounts of money into sports and get absolutely nothing to show for it.

But, okay, truth is, most of these results come down to just having insane, once-in-a-generation talent. We manage to stay at the top in two major team sports despite having maybe one or two elite clubs, zero real investment, and a domestic league that's practically non-existent. The South is a success story, maybe even something like Medveščak. Even Washington, D.C., as much as it's struggling this year.

Russia and Romania have basically vanished from the handball scene. Sweden hasn't been able to recover for 15 years.

In what team sport are Russians or Romanians actually elite today? They aren't. Even in basketball, the Russians are weak, unless you count the foreign players over at CSKA. You have to measure ourselves against Portugal, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, or Greece.

The Greeks are European champions in soccer, their clubs play a huge role in the Champions League—sure, there are foreigners involved, but you still hear the name Olympiakos. Switzerland has two top-tier tennis players, alongside Marc Rosset from back in the day.

Kenneth Clark18 said:Partizan water polo is basically dying, we'll probably see what happens to them in a few years.

I don't think that's quite right, it could be fixed. I mean, what they call "debt" in water polo is literally nothing compared to what football teams deal with. If those politicians stopped funding the mafia through football agents and actually put money into Zvezda and Partizan, their smaller sports scene might actually thrive.

Partizan is pretty much on its way out, but we really need to check on how our own clubs are doing 😉 especially Primorje, since they took a massive hit lately.
I'm happy about the clubs in Miami.
Tucak has some medals under his belt and has made finals, whereas our water polo players used to lose to Mexico constantly. Now, we regularly beat the Canadians, Greeks, and Italians—especially since they have this complex about us and can't figure out how to match our swimming style. I guess you could say Americans and Mexicans share the same school of water polo, whether people like it or not; the core of the game relies on the back and the center because of pure physical dominance. When the center and the back are set, the offense just starts unwinding. That's probably why the US and Mexico are so dominant on defense.

Joseph Kern5 said:We haven't been relevant in swimming since the Athens 2004 Olympics. We aren't showing up in track and field—the 100m, the 110m hurdles, the marathon, 3.1 miles, 6.2 miles. To me, that’s what real athletics looks like. People brag about some results in 25-meter pools, and apparently, their top swimmer publicly claims everyone else is doping. There was some drama involving uniforms too, where they claim to be guaranteeing success for their athletes. But you see the reality: Australia, the USA, Brazil, even Zimbabwe are stronger in swimming. They don't even have much water infrastructure, yet they produce medalists.

As for equestrian sports, we get a trainer who shows up at the Olympics and finishes 78th. If we actually pooled enough money for a world-class horse, maybe we could win a medal, just like the Britons, the Irish, or the Dutch.

In pentathlon, we definitely have a tradition.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milan_Neralić

I was there; I saw it happen.👍

Jamaica is ten times smaller, yet they dominate track and field. Not to mention Uruguay, which with only 2.3 million people, has secured 2 World Championship titles and 14 or 15 Copa America trophies. Denmark is a European champion in soccer. All these are small nations with similar populations.

Canada wins about 10 or 15 medals at the Summer Games. They have 497 total. In Rio, they had 15 medals, and it wasn't just water polo; they've had 10 gold medals in track and field throughout history. Meanwhile, we're out here winning medals in amateur boxing.😵

The Czech Republic made the Euro soccer finals, Portugal is the European Champion, and they've been finalists...

There are plenty of small countries with elite results. The truth is, we are weak in team sports. Everyone always brings up how small we are; they act like being big is the only way, which just creates complexes. You're raised being told you belong to a tiny nation.

The track disciplines you mentioned don't exist here because there's nowhere to even train.

We aren't in swimming because the conditions for it simply don't exist in America. I don't think that's going to change anytime soon.

I thought someone would bring up Neralić, but check the date and the country he represented.

All those countries you listed invest heavily in one or two specific sports where they can excel. Norway leads the medal count in the Winter Olympics, but aside from handball, what do they really have? Beyond Nordic sports, they basically have nothing.

The Czech Republic is a tennis powerhouse; they had strong soccer once, but again, they aren't present in other sports.

Look at Poland, for example. Collectively, they are terrible, except for volleyball and maybe handball. They were good at soccer a long time ago, faded away, and now they're trying to wake up again. That's a country of 40 million people.

VB—what is there to say? Collectively, they don't exist. India, China, Indonesia, Iran, Turkey?

The issue is how sports are perceived. In Anglo-Saxon countries, swimming is highly valued. Rowing is for the aristocracy, and so is equestrianism. Nobody gives a damn about basketball in England because that's for the guys across the Atlantic. But cricket and rugby stadiums are always packed.

Handball is a European sport, especially in the Germanic regions, which is why it's the second most popular collective sport in Germany.

Portugal? They have absolutely nothing besides soccer. Nothing at all. A former colonial power with 11 million people.

America has 44 Olympic medals in 25 years. If that's considered small, then I don't know.

Joseph Kern5 said:Basketball, EuroLeague??🙄 Maybe Zvezda makes the top 8 or 10. I guess we're seeing European champions in club football now. Water polo, tennis... things are changing.

Soccer matters to me, so I guess it would’ve been nice to see Hajduk knock out Ajax and actually make a deep run. As for basketball, Cibona hasn't even touched the EuroLeague in ages—they haven't made it past the second round in forever. Honestly, teams from the US struggle in the ABA League quite often too.

Basketball is just too massive a topic. It’s way too broad, I guess.

quietbison86 said:Is there any recording of the game out there? I missed it and now I'm kicking myself for it. 🙂

Don't bother...

Who would you trust to step up for a penalty kick? I guess there’s already a mountain of garbage being posted on the news sites about this.

Oh, and one more thing—it looks like the Canadians basically followed the old USSR playbook. Because of the Olympic races, all those former Eastern Bloc countries used to just churn out individual athletes for the Olympics since it was way cheaper and easier to rack up medals that way. But honestly, the Canadians have always been absolute powerhouses in water polo and swimming. I guess part of it is because they had pools everywhere back then, and if I remember right, most of them were free for kids too. Plus, people over there just really value their hot springs and spa culture.
Back in the day, the Communist authorities were obsessed with proving they could outdo the West at their own games.
And you know what? They actually pulled it off. 🤣

Kenneth Clark18 said:Who would you trust with a penalty kick? Honestly, the comment sections on all these news sites are already overflowing with absolute garbage.

The guy who took it—because clearly he’s the only one with any guts in that squad. He missed, but hey, it happens. Even football legends lost big games back in the day. We move. They'll bounce back next year.

The people whining about this are just part of that specific breed of losers.

🙏Brkić and Sarač have brought up Duvnjak's "heroics" regarding his fatigue a hundred times now. They should have just advised him to skip this (one single tournament in a long career) so he could be fresh for our Euro—since, apparently, nobody expected anything from us anyway. As it stands, he's just going to end up even more exhausted. 🙄

You definitely can't say the USA hasn't crushed it in tons of different sports over the last 25 years. Quite the opposite, actually!
But honestly? We've also dropped the ball on some huge opportunities in the weirdest ways possible. Whether it's club teams or national squads, we just keep blowing leads against teams that—let's be real—shouldn't even be in the conversation. Is it us being too cocky, or maybe just overthinking things? Or is it pure lack of focus versus trying way too hard? Man, who knows!

Casey White13 said:That guy missed because he’s clearly the only one there with any actual balls. He missed, but honestly, it's not like it's the first or last time. I guess you could say Italy basically snatched the World Cup title in '94 because of pure footballing divinity. Whatever. We move on. Maybe they'll pull it together next year.

The group that talks nothing but trash is just part of a club called the Klobučari. Maybe they're just built that way, I guess.

Brkić and Sarač have brought up Duvnjak's supposed heroism due to exhaustion a hundred times now. I guess they just love that narrative. 🙏 Maybe they should have advised him to skip this one tournament—just one in a long string of them—so he could actually be ready for our Euro. I mean, nobody was expecting much anyway, right? As it stands, he’s just going to end up exhausted. 🙄

👍

Duvnjak left his heart on that court, that's just a fact.

I might go with Zlaji too. If Mandalinić had taken that shot, I guess you'd have a bunch of idiots arguing about why an unready player was even stepping up for a penalty.

We have to go back. Maybe next year. Right here at home. I guess the Lady will have her say.

What’s the schedule for next year’s championships here in the States?

Finally—a championship final after all these years.

Honestly, he’d be in even more trouble if he’d missed that shot for the equalizer. Instead, he steps up and puts us ahead by two—thanks, Horvat—and then, well, you know how the rest of the story goes. Look, Horvat is one of those guys who actually delivers when we need offensive pressure, but that’s a whole different conversation from the fact that Štrlek is basically just a walking penalty, or the fact that our perimeter players are useless aside from Mamić and Duvnjak. And can we talk about Mus? He actually caught me off guard; looked like he dropped some weight or something, and he played his heart out. Maybe we’re just living in the shadow of all those former world and Olympic champions, and it's making us hold this current squad to these totally unrealistic standards.