Handball Euro: America vs. Spain 29-33

Cementara has risen from the dead! It’s like a miracle sent straight from Lourdes.
I haven't miscalculated—he conceded 11 goals in a row without a single save, yet he’s still out there guarding the net.
That kind of resilience is something you only see here in America.

These just aren't true... I'm making this public: I won't be watching another single game for the national team if Mirko and Čupić are in the starting lineup. And that goes for having Babić on the bench too...

Man, does Čupić have some kind of lifetime reservation or something? Like, is he booked out until 2099?
I mean, why does he have to mess up every single play just to make sure Horvat never actually gets a shot on the floor?

So, regarding Babić:

1. He completely destroys the rhythm of a team that actually managed to play 14 fantastic minutes using their standard rotations, all during a game you only get to play once every two or three years.

2. For some inexplicable reason, Čupić is being given the edge over Horvat, despite the fact that he has been playing two levels below him throughout this entire championship.

3. As for Alilović, is there even any point in commenting? His absolute lack of coaching intuition became painfully obvious the moment he started working with Mirko following everything that went down in the last one...

4. They maintained a 5-1 defense for 28 minutes of the half, during which they didn't concede a SINGLE goal from the perimeter.

That fourth point needs to be written a hundred more times and slapped right onto his forehead and his buddy Jesus's forehead!!

Disgusting.

Kudos to the guys, though; they truly exceeded expectations and deserve immense 👍 for this tournament, purely because of how they handled Poland.

Babić is a massive 👎

This game completely exposed him.

For heaven's sake, can we just have one legitimate head coach in any sport for once...
JUST ONCE.

Šterbik moved to the bench, leaving Cementara still guarding the net.

We’re looking at a +3 to -4 swing, and man, that Spanish offense just went scorched earth in the second half.
It felt like we were basically handing them everything—points off the line and easy fast breaks.
There is absolutely no way Alilovic should be starting in goal after how Stevanovic carried us all the way to the semifinals.
It’s such a bummer because the coaching was questionable, but honestly, once they started bringing up divine intervention and miracles as the reason we made the semis, what else could you expect? It's a bit much.
Such a shame, too, because we started this tournament with so much momentum.

If Alilović actually possessed a shred of true sportsmanship, he would have been the first one to ask for a substitution
but honestly, you either have that kind of integrity in your soul or you don't

George Robinson43 said:Cement is back from the dead. I guess the Virgin Mary sent him straight from Lourdes.
If I'm seeing this right, he just gave up 11 points in a row without even trying to defend, yet here he is, still playing defense.
I suppose that kind of thing only happens with us.

Logic just doesn't seem to be a factor for our coach... or any of the guys who held the job before him.

To be perfectly honest, this looks like a total disaster for the Americans, a massive +10 swing in favor of the Spaniards

Jack Taylor21 said:Half our goals were conceded right on the line. Is there any way I can stop that?

The Virgin Mary can work miracles!

Sam Murphy said:I mean, what kind of idiot puts Alilović in goal right after that game against Poland? You could clearly see the Spaniards weren't hitting anything from deep, so why stick with a 6-0 defense instead of switching to a 5-1?

Even with a 5-1 setup, you shouldn't be letting that many shots get through at the pivot position. A 5-1 is supposed to open things up for the wings—but here we are, giving up everything in the paint. It's inexcusable. Honestly, it might not even be about the 5-1 versus 6-0 thing... we just plain old suck at defending the line.

That’s that.
It happened, and now it's over.

Thomas Hayes2 said:None of this is true... I’m just going to say it publicly—I won't be tuning into another single game for the national team if Mirko and Ćupko stay in the starting lineup. And having Babić on the bench too...

Are you trying to be a tough guy now? 🤣

It’s funny how it works, isn't it? When the USA absolutely crushes Poland and pulls off some miracle comeback from certain defeat to reach the semifinals, suddenly everyone thinks they're living gods! But the second they hit a rough patch in the first half? Then, overnight, they're nothing at all. Just total nobodies. 😁

We Americans 🙏🙏🙏🙏

That was weak. We’re just letting the whole system fall apart instead of digging in and fighting until the final buzzer—especially with that defense looking totally lost.

neonviper8 said:so, regarding Babić:

1. he completely destroys the rhythm of a team that was playing 14 incredible minutes using their standard rotations, in a game you only get to play once every few years

2. for some reason, Čupić seems to have an edge over Horvat, even though he's been two levels behind him all season long

3. do we even need to talk about Alilović? It shows a total lack of coaching instinct when he started Mirko in this game after everything that went down in the last one...

4. he held a 5-1 defense for 28 minutes of the half where they didn't score a SINGLE goal from the perimeter

That fourth point needs to be written a hundred more times and slapped right onto his forehead and his buddy Jesus's forehead!!

gross

kudos to the guys, though; they exceeded expectations and deserve huge 👍 for the tournament just because of Poland

Babić is a massive 👎

this game really exposed him

man, I swear, if we could just have one decent coach in any sport for once...
JUST ONCE

great post 👍 but honestly, that's just how things work in this country—amateurs, cronies, and relatives everywhere, including on the national team bench 🤣

With Alilović in goal, we don't stand a chance..
But seriously, yeah, why even put him in net when Stevanović is out there defending like a total maniac? I just don't get it.. it's driving me CRAZY

Defense wins championships. At this rate, it feels like we’re just competing to see who can let their player score more easily.

And after such a promising start...

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We’re looking at a 3-4 point margin. ☕

Paul Jones7 said:Even when running a 5-1 defense, you shouldn't be letting that many shots through at the pivot position. A 5-1 setup is supposed to leave more space on the wings, yet here we are, getting carved up right down the middle. It’s frankly inexcusable; it doesn't matter if you're playing a 5-1 or any other scheme—we are simply failing to defend the crease.

We seem to be conceding a massive amount of goals from the line specifically because of those late runs from the wing players...

The way to prevent this kind of disaster is to establish dominance early, perhaps by being up 6:0 within the first fifteen minutes, for heaven's sake...
I must admit, I find myself feeling quite disillusioned with our coaching staff across pretty much every sport lately.