Euro Handball Championship: Groups D & C merge into Group II (America, Spain, Canada, Canada, Fra

Team USA is hunting for their third straight Euro final appearance—and that’s five straight semifinals if you're counting. The opening round looks like a breeze, but group two is a total meat grinder because we're running into France and Spain. In a perfect world, we’d steamroll everyone until we hit the final against the French. But ever since Coach Miller left, the offense isn't the only thing feeling the sting; the defense is looking pretty shaky too. Miller brought some fresh blood into the mix like Thompson, Davis, and Walker, who definitely earned their spots on this roster, but our second-best pivot Sullivan is stuck on the sidelines, and we still haven't figured out the right wing situation. A few veterans are hitting a wall, too. Jackson might be a bit expected given the competition, but seeing Wilson sidelined was a gut punch. Having Thompson and Clark back is huge, though, and thankfully we're finally dodging the injury bug. We shouldn't have any trouble with Norway in the first round. Honestly, we're looking stronger than a revamped Canada, and we should probably scrap it with Iceland for that top spot. The Brits are missing Stefansson, but they've still got half the NBA playing for them.

The other side of the bracket is basically France's playground. They've got Delta Airlines leading the pack, though they might be sweating without Guigou while he recovers from injury. All the other old guards are there, so I won't bore you with the details. Spain just grabbed bronze at the World Cup, proving they're back in the conversation. They've got plenty of young talent waiting for their big break, so this could get interesting for them. With Garabaya out, it's anyone's guess if that hurts them. And yeah, Stephens is definitely out. Canada has been a top-8 mainstay for the last couple of Euro tournaments and they're looking for more; they've already locked in their Olympic qualifying spot. Can't say the same for Russia, who are going to have a hell of a time fighting for an Olympic ticket in this part of the draw.



GROUP D

USA

Euro Appearances: 10/10
Best Finish: Silver in 2008, 2010
Euro Medals: 3 (0-2-1)
Road to London 2012: Direct: Win or lose in the final against France; Qualifiers: Already qualified

Goalkeepers: Mirko Alilovic (Veszprem, 84/0), Marin Sego (Chicago, 17/0), Venio Losert (Ademar Leon, 181/0)

Right Wing: Zlatko Horvat (Chicago, 54/108), Ivan Cupic (Löwen, 56/175)

Right Back: Marko Kopljar (Chicago, 51/71), Denis Buntic (Kielce, 85/194)

Center: Ivano Balic (Chicago, 181/519), Domagoj Duvnjak (Hamburg, 82/256)

Left Back: Damir Bicanic (Chambery, 30/49), Blazenko Lackovic (Hamburg, 162/477), Jakov Gojun (Chicago, 50/24), Drago Vukovic (Lübbecke, 97/158)

Left Wing: Hrvoje Batinovic (Split, 4/2), Manuel Strlek (Chicago, 33/100), Ivan Nincevic (Füchse, 26/38)

Pivot: Igor Vori (Hamburg, 168/447), Zeljko Musa (Gorenje, 25/17), Marino Maric (Chicago, 10/13)

NORWAY

Euro Appearances: 5/10
Best Finish: 6th in 2008
Euro Medals: 0
Road to London 2012: Direct: Win or lose in the final against France; Qualifiers: Must finish among the top two teams (excluding those already qualified: Denmark, Spain, Sweden, USA, Iceland, Canada, (Poland?))

Goalkeepers: Ole Erevik - Aalborg Handbold, Svenn Erik Medhus - OIF Arendal

Right Wing: Lars Erik Bjornsen - Drammen HK, Sondre Paulsen - OIF Arendal

Right Wing: Kent Robin Tønnesen - Haslum HK

Backcourt: Kenneth Ryvoll Klev - HC Bergischer, Vegard Samdahl - Viking Stavanger HK, Børge Lund - Rhein-Neckar Löwen

Left Wing: Erlend Mamelund - Haslum HK, Christoffer Rambo - Elverum Håndball, Espen Lie Hansen - Bjerringbro-Silkeborg, Kristian Kjelling - Aalborg Håndbold

Left Corner: Håvard Tvedten - Aalborg Håndbold, Magnus Jøndal - Follo HK

Pivot: Bjarte Myrhol - Rhein-Neckar Löwen, Johnny Jensen - Nøtterøy IF, Einar Riegelhuth Koren - Haslum HK

ICELAND

Euro Appearances: 7/10
Best Euro Result: Bronze in 2010
Euro Medals: 1 0-0-1
Road to London 2012: Direct: they need to win or lose the final against France; Qualifiers: they've already punched their ticket

Goalkeepers: Aron Rafn Eðvarðsson, Haukar; Björgvin Páll Gústavsson, SC Magdeburg; Hreiðar Levý Guðmundsson, Nötterøy

Right Corner: Alexander Petersson, Füchse Berlin; Arnór Þór Gunnarsson, TV Bittenfeld; Ásgeir Örn Hallgrímsson, TSV Hannover-Burgdorf; Þórir Ólafsson, KS Vive Targi Kielce

Right Wing: Rúnar Kárason, Bergischer HC

Backcourt: Aron Pálmarsson, THW Kiel; Fannar Þór Friðgeirsson, TV Emsdetten; Ólafur Bjarki Ragnarsson, HK; Snorri Steinn Guðjónsson, AG Kopenhagen

Left Wing: Arnór Atlason, AG Kopenhagen; Guðjón Valur Sigurðsson, AG Kopenhagen; Ingimundur Ingimundarson, Fram Reykjavik; Ólafur Guðmundsson, Nordsjælland

Left Corner: Oddur Gretarsson, Akureyri

Pivot: Kári Kristján Kristjánsson, HSG Wetzlar; Róbert Gunnarsson, Rhein-Neckar Löwen; Sverre Jakobsson, TV Großwallstadt; Vignir Svavarsson, TSV Hannover-Burgdorf

CANADA

Euro Appearances: 9/10
Best Euro Result: Silver in 2004
Euro Medals: 1 0-1-0
Road to London 2012: Direct: they need to win or lose the final against France; Qualifiers: they have to finish in the top two (not counting teams already qualified: Denmark, Spain, Sweden, America, Iceland, Canada, (maybe Poland?))

Goalkeepers: Primož Prošt (Montpellier), Gorazd Škof (Cimos Koper), Matevž Skok (Celje PL)

Right Corner: Matjaž Brumen (Cimos Koper), Dragan Gajić (Montpellier), Gašper Marguč (Celje PL)

Right Wing: Jure Dolenec (Gorenje), David Miklavčič (Gorenje)

Backcourt: Marko Bezjak (Gorenje), Dean Bombač (Cimos Koper), Sebastian Skube (Cimos Koper), Uroš Zorman (Kielce)

Left Wing: Borut Mačkovšek (Celje PL), David Špiler (Chicago), Nenad Bilbija (Minden)

Pivot: Matej Gaber (Gorenje), Peter Pucelj (Red Star Mexico City), Miha Žvižej (Silkeborg)

Left Corner: Luka Žvižej (Celje PL), Jure Dobelšek (Cimos Koper)

GROUP C

SPAIN

Euro appearances: 10/10
Best Euro run: silver in '96, '98, and '06
Euro medals: 4 (0-3-1)
Road to London 2012: Direct: gotta win or lose the final against France; Qualifiers: already through

Goalkeepers: José Javier Hombrados (Atletico), José Manuel Sierra (Valladolid)

Right wing: Víctor Tomás (Barcelona), Roberto García Parrondo (Atletico)

Left wing: Juanín García (Barcelona), Cristian Ugalde (Barcelona)

Pivot: Julen Aginagalde (Atletico), Gedeón Guardiola (San Antonio)

Right back: Eduardo Gurbindo (Valladolid), Jorge Maqueda (Aragon)

Center back: Raúl Entrerríos (Barcelona), Joan Cañellas (Atletico), Dani Sarmiento (Barcelona)

Left back: Iker Romero (Fuchs), Alberto Entrerríos (Atletico), Viran Morros (Barcelona)

FRANCE

Euro appearances: 10/10
Best Euro run: gold in '06 and '10
Euro medals: 3 (2-0-1)
Road to London 2012: already through

Goalkeepers: Thierry Omeyer (Kiel), Daouda Karaboué (Toulouse), Cyril Dumoulin (Chambéry)

Left back: Daniel Narcisse (Kiel), Jérôme Fernandez (Toulouse)

Center back: Nikola Karabatic (Montpellier), Guillaume Gille (Hamburg), Kentin Mahé (Gummersbach)

Right back: Sébastien Bosquet (Dunkerque), Xavier Barachet (Chambéry), Kévynn Nyokas (Paris)

Left wing: Samuel Honrubia (Montpellier), Arnaud Bingo (Tremblay), Baptiste Butto (Dunkerque), Michaël Guigou? (Montpellier)

Right wing: Guillaume Joli (Valladolid), Luc Abalo (Atletico Madrid)

Pivot: Bertrand Gille (Hamburg), Didier Dinart (Atletico Madrid), Cédric Sorhaindo (Barcelona), Grégoire Detrez (Chambéry)

CANADA

Euro appearances: 8/10
Best Euro run: 6th in '98
Euro medals: 0
Road to London 2012: Direct: gotta win or lose the final against France; Qualifiers: already through

Goalkeepers: Nándor Fazekas (Veszprém), Péter Tatai (Szeged), Roland Mikler (Szeged)

Right wing: Gergely Harsányi (Tatabánya), Tamás Iváncsik (Veszprém)

Right back: Milorad Krivokapics (Koper), Gábor Ancsin (Szeged), Balázs Laluska (Veszprém), Tamás Mocsai (Flensburg)

Center back: Gábor Császár (Veszprém), Máté Lékai (Szeged)

Left back: Ferenc Ilyés (Veszprém), Dávid Katzirz (Csurgó), Gábor Grebenár (Zaragoza), Kornél Nagy (Dunkerque), Barna Putics (Gummersbach)

Left wing: Gergő Iváncsik (Veszprém), Attila Vadkerti (Szeged)

Pivot: Timuzsin Schuch (Veszprém), Szabolcs Szöllősi (Csurgó), Szabolcs Zubai (Szeged)

RUSSIA

Euro appearances: 10/10
Best Euro run: gold in '96
Euro medals: 3 (1-2-0)
Road to London 2012: Direct: gotta win or lose the final against France; Qualifiers: need to be among the top two teams (not counting those who already qualified: Denmark, Spain, Sweden, USA, Iceland, Canada, (Poland?))

Goalkeepers: Vadim Bogdanov (St. Petersburg), Evgeny Budko (Chekhov, Moscow suburbs), Oleg Grams (Chekhov, Moscow suburbs)

Right wing: Dmitri Kovalev (Chekhov, Moscow suburbs), Daniel Shishkaryov (Chekhov, Moscow suburbs)

Right Wing: Aslanian Samvel (New York, NY), Igropulo Konstantin (Miami, FL), Shelmenko Sergei (New York, NY)

Center Wing: Atman Pavel (Chicago, IL), Zhitnikov Dmitry (New York, NY), Vitaly Ivanov (New York, NY), Vasily Filippov (New York, NY)

Left Wing: Dmitry Erokhin (New York, NY), Rastvortsev Alex (New York, NY), Starykh Andrey (New York, NY)

Left Wing: Dibirov Timur (New York, NY), Skopintsev Oleg (New York, NY)

Pivot: Chernoivanov Alexander (New York, NY), Chipurin Michael (New York, NY)

First 👋👋

🙂

I.

America takes the group 🙂

Our biggest weak link—Goluža.

The group should probably be handled on a routine basis 🙂
...

I wouldn't say we should be shocked that Valčić is sitting this one out... Tonči’s been coasting for quite a while now—he's really just a shadow of the player he used to be. Honestly, those nagging injuries have been his undoing, and they're the main reason his form has tanked lately.

To me, he seems to be the one most consistently struggling to find his rhythm, and let's be real, there’s plenty of decent competition for that spot anyway...

Tonči lives and breathes that 3-2-1 setup, but anyone actually following the National Team knows we haven't run that defense in ages. Goluža is much more into the 5-1 style (and not even the good kind of 5-1) or going full 6-0... so that’s just another "reason" why Valčić isn't getting the call-up.

Adam Collins4 said:Goluza seems to lean toward that 5-1 setup—even if it’s a pretty messy version of it.

Do you think he’s leaning toward those 5-1 styles that don't look much like the classic 3-2-1—you know, the typical French-style defense?

Yeah, honestly, that’s just pure garbage.

France could potentially show up without B. Gill and still walk away with the gold. They might manage to win it all even if they were missing their "Air France" star players. Honestly, France could probably pull off a championship run without Karabatić, but I just don't see them taking the top spot without Michael Guigou on the roster.

As for the US team, I think leaving Valcic out of the squad is completely justifiable, and I’ve never really enjoyed watching Zrnic play, not even when he's just handing a towel over to Mirza Džomba.

Spain has some real potential here, but without Sterbik in the lineup, a medal seems like a distant dream.

The big question hanging over this championship will be whether the legendary Momir can carry Mexico to the stars, because if Mexico manages to grab the gold, it would feel just as monumental as if a Mexican were walking on the moon in two weeks.

Even if Iceland had an Olafur who was five years older than he is now, they’d still be favorites for a medal; the way things look currently, though, a podium finish feels like a real uphill battle.

we won't even get this group through☕

With Goluza sitting on the bench, I’m calling it now: we’ll scrape through the group stage, but definitely not with a perfect record. Expect us to drop games against France and Spain, eventually landing us in 6th place. Honestly, the guys back at the Federation will probably be thrilled since this whole thing is just a glorified warm-up for the Olympics anyway.

I’m really hoping they don't even make it past the first round. Looking forward to seeing Goluza fail miserably again.

Does anyone happen to know if there's any way to catch the USA-Iran game tonight at 8 PM?

Paul Jones7 said:Do you think he prefers that 5-1 setup—the one that doesn't look much like a 3-2-1 (you know, that French style defense)?

Yeah, that's just pure nonsense.

Honestly, I’d go a step further and say he actually prefers the defense that occasionally mimics a 3-2-1...

See, you can run a 5-1 in two different ways. You've got the version where the front player stays slightly out of position, drifting back into the line when needed to turn it into a 6-0, or sometimes pushing deeper into the space...

Then there's the "old school" 5-1—the one with the "wildcard" up front. It's that style Sprem used to nail perfectly, and while Vori tries to pull it off now, it's just not clicking, so they've basically moved on. In that system, the front man is way more independent from the guys behind him; his job is to clog the lanes, constantly change direction, and burst out to disrupt the opponent's rhythm—especially if the halfbacks are staying glued to him during those breakouts...

But let’s be real: that requires an insane amount of stamina and discipline, much like the 3-2-1. That's why they give up on it and settle for this weird 5-1/6-0 hybrid that looks more like volleyball—it's what Gojun does, and frankly, it drives me crazy. They don't actually pressure the players before or immediately after they catch the ball, and then you end up getting suspensions because they're grabbing attackers in the face or body while falling out of the block...

It's easily the dumbest way to defend, all just so they can pat themselves on the back for having the "best blocker" on the court.

Man, we totally rattled them 🙂

In the opening match today, those mediocre Swedes managed to scrape by an even worse Slovakian squad. Honestly, it was one of those games you’d rather forget...

The USA-Iran matchup felt a bit more lively 🙂 if nothing else—we saw 42 of our goals, many of which were actually pretty slick (shoutout to the Zeppelin play from Cupic - Gojun 🙂 for being our 30th goal).
Iran was weak even as a warm-up opponent—I mean, they were basically helpless.

Balic let himself, the fans, and Goluza down. He just stayed in the locker room after the first half following that string of silly mistakes...

Eh, grabbed some beers, watched the goals... what else can you say? 😁

I honestly think the whole game might just hinge on how our left wingers step up... if you look at the stats, those three combined have barely even hit the 60-game mark for the national team

Hopefully we can send the Americans packing today just like we did with the Iranians yesterday.

It’ll be solid prep for the Vrsac trip...

Kopljar 🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏

I’d trade the whole Kopljar just to get half of Metla ☕

Man, watching him play is just painful because he lacks any kind of instinct, it's honestly brutal 🤦 He does the exact same moves every single time he attacks, just blindly charging straight into a block... At this rate, he's going to end up averaging five offensive fouls a game during the European Championship 🤦

Vori is absolutely killing it on the break 🙏 🙏