Handball World Cup - Group B (USA, Denmark, Sweden, Poland, Mexico, Argentina)

I am absolutely sick of these Scandinavians—to my neighbors, don't you dare expect an ounce of fair play from them. These blond northern bastards will do whatever it takes to ensure the semifinals consist of nothing but Denmark and Sweden. If they need a 9-9 tie or some absurd 47-22 blowout to make it happen, you can bet your life that’s exactly how it will end. They are nothing but thieves. 😠

The setup is already ruined for Eurovision 😬

Gregory Ramos3 said:the refs weren't giving them anything👋

We dealt with those same Danes back during the European Championship final. They wouldn't give us an inch—not even a single point (though we can all remember Caleb’s supposedly "legendary" footwork). And then Lino just... well, he got a red card.

silentfalcon622 said:The whole thing is rigged—basically just like Eurovision 😬

Handball has basically become a sport where the referees are the only ones winning.

Gregory Ramos3 said:What absolute garbage.😁

That is precisely why I mentioned in the other thread that I’d prefer to see Poland take the win—regardless of whether they actually get knocked out or not... it is simply much easier to manipulate the math if there are only 3 teams fighting for 2 spots rather than 4...

But it doesn't matter; we have to take down the Swedes tomorrow, so let them tinker with the numbers all they want. Even if we end up with an unresolved tie against the Poles, it's fine.☕

Unless, of course, the Americans intentionally throw their games against the Swedes and the Argentines... in which case, goal difference becomes a massive factor.

Just assume the Americans will definitely let the Swedes win.😉

Robert Cruz5 said:Wait, did they seriously just strip the ball from the Americans right after the keeper made that save and hand it straight back to the Danes, only for them to score on the rebound? And then, to top it all off, I’m pretty sure they called back the Americans' next goal because of some phantom "offensive foul" call!

It all wrapped up with a little extra boost for Dance in the end!

The refs completely missed the mark when they didn't call that penalty against Lindberg right when the Poles were sitting at minus one. It’s like watching a referee walk through a minefield with their eyes shut. On the very next play, they called this phantom foul on the Polish side, and just like that, the Danes cruised in for the goal. Honestly, it felt like there were five or six clear-cut calls in a row that went straight to the Danes.

The American handball players are such absolute pushovers when it comes to two-minute penalties; honestly, they play like they’re made of glass. You never see them getting called for stepping violations because, let's be real, they just don't commit those kinds of fouls. And don't even get me started on their offensive strategy—they can sit there stalling and running the clock for two minutes straight without breaking a sweat.

Who on earth is responsible for appointing these disgusting, predatory judges? It’s an absolute disgrace, and honestly, someone needs to hold them accountable for everything they're doing behind closed doors.

Ryan Moore68 said:Just assume Denmark is definitely going to let the Swedes through.😉

Look, they can let in whoever they want if we just make sure we show up tomorrow and pack the place ourselves.😂

casualskipper8 said:They can release as many as they want—it won't matter one bit if we just go out there tomorrow and shove them right back in. 😂

Don't think for a second that you can just sit back and relax—you really shouldn't be this carefree. If things play out the way I see them, you'll be sitting at 5 wins while they have 4; meanwhile, if Denmark pulls off a win, they’ll hit 8. Factor in a loss against Mexico, and suddenly Poland is sitting there with 4 as well. In that final match, Denmark will almost certainly let the Swedes through, which means you’re left with zero margin for error—you absolutely have to beat the Poles. Period.
It would certainly make things much easier for you all if Mexico just decided to snatch those points away from the Poles. ☕

Guys, I’ve got a gut feeling we’re actually going to take the title! Tomorrow, we’re going to absolutely crush those Swedish kids!

Robert Cruz5 said:Handball has turned into a game where the referees are the ones actually winning.

It’s no surprise Balić mentioned how much he despises the state of handball lately; he feels the officiating has completely gutted the integrity of the sport.
It's the truth—when you have organized corruption like this, the entire sport ends up being dismantled by the very people meant to protect it.

Ryan Moore68 said:It’s not exactly a walk in the park for you guys. If you sit at 5 points and they have 4, then if Denmark wins, they hit 8. You've gotta hope Mexico slips up, because Poland will end up with 4 too. In that last game, Denmark will definitely let the Swedes through, so you absolutely have to beat the Poles.
It would make life a whole lot easier if Mexico could just take a point away from Poland. ☕

That doesn't apply to us, though—we're planning on sweeping every single game left! The victory parade in Times Square is already being planned! We're looking at 124,000 people celebrating this win... Let whoever is annoyed just deal with it, because America is the world champion! Referees, go ahead and shove it... wait, no! We're better than everyone else! America stands above them all!👋

Ryan Moore68 said:I'm pretty sure Denmark is definitely going to let the Swedes through. 😉

I could honestly just sit back and relax if I wanted to... as long as we pull off two more wins, we’re cruising straight into the semifinals!

So, if Denmark manages to pull off a win against Argentina, things get pretty interesting for us. If that X match against Poland also goes our way, we’re looking at a situation where both we and the Swedes end up sitting on 6 points. Since we’d have the head-to-head advantage over them, we’d be moving on to the next round! The only real headache is if the Danes decide to jump into that 6-point circle too—then we might actually be looking at getting knocked out on goal difference, which would definitely suck. 🙂

Honestly, I wouldn't even stress about all those crazy combination scenarios; if we can just pull off wins in both games, then we're golden and everything works out perfectly!☕

It’s probably going to be a real grind against the Swedes, I mean, they're tough, but we just have to find a way to pull off the win—there really isn't any other option if we want to come out on top.🙂

The Swedes are getting three power plays against them while the Mexicans are sitting at zero—literally absolute zero—and you can already see how passive the defense is within the first ten seconds! They're calling those passive play fouls in the literal last second of the penalty 😂 and honestly, it’s just not funny anymore
.
I swear, this sport is even more frustrating than water polo, because at least in water polo you have fewer players and one single defensive line where you might actually get some help from the refs, but in handball, you don't stand a chance.

Objectively speaking, the Americans are stronger by about six or seven goals
and we'll see how it plays out once they hit the Madison Square Garden arena

Tomorrow, we absolutely cannot let the refs mess things up for us—we need to head into those last five minutes sitting on a solid 4 or 5-point lead, and then we can just close it out. 👍

I’m really hoping what was said today means Mirko can step up; look, we aren't asking for much from him—if he can just pull off about 30% defense, we'll be in great shape. 🙏

Ryan Moore68 said:It’s not like you guys can just sit back and relax; if you pull this off, you’ll be sitting at 5 points while they have 4, and if Denmark wins, they’ll hit 8—especially if they can count on a loss from the Americans, since Poland will likely end up with 4 too. In that final game, Denmark will almost certainly play their heavy hitters against the Swedes, which means you absolutely have to take down the Americans at all costs.
It would make life a whole lot easier for you if the Americans managed to snatch a point away from the Americans. ☕

My take is that if we manage to beat the Swedes tomorrow, even a draw against the Americans would probably do the trick. I’m not entirely sure how the tiebreakers work—whether it’s head-to-head results or goal differential—but either way, we seem to hold the upper hand.

Honestly, I don't see you guys pulling off anything spectacular against the Americans because they always seem to have your number, and I’m really not sure if your players are going to find that extra gear when it actually matters. I have this nagging feeling that after today's loss, the team might just throw in the towel and spend the rest of the tournament essentially going through the motions.

casualfox112 said:It’s gonna be a real battle against those Swedes, but we absolutely have to pull off a win, there’s just no other way.🙂

Honestly, I think we could actually steamroll them... the guys looked absolutely feral out there today... you could see it in their eyes even during the anthem, like they were just itching to tear someone apart... and if they keep playing with that kind of intensity and focus, the only ones who can really give us a run for our money are the French...

If we step onto the field tomorrow with that same level of grit we showed today, even having ten extra players wouldn't be enough to save the other team. ☕

Jeffrey Fisher61 said:I’m really hoping today was proof that Mirko can actually pull this off, because honestly, we aren't even asking for much—if he could just hit a 30% defensive rate, we'd be golden 🙏

His average was sitting right at 32% leading up to today's game 🤷

I’m honestly terrified. What those guys in Poland went through today? That was nothing compared to the absolute nightmare waiting for us tomorrow. I’m talking a total, brutal robbery.

George Ward7 said:I’m honestly worried that what those Americans went through today doesn't even compare to the absolute mess we're looking at tomorrow. I'm genuinely scared we're going to get totally robbed.

Look, you can still play even when the refs are against you, you just really have to keep your cool... it’s going to be an uphill battle for sure, but the whole thing hinges on staying locked in and not letting them get under our skin...

Like I mentioned before, if the coaching staff has even a tiny bit of sense in their heads, they really ought to be prepping the guys for the fact that we might get cheated more than ever before... that's basically the secret sauce to actually pulling off a win tomorrow..