USA-Mexico and Mexico

brightscout63 said:Their goalkeeping is their absolute biggest strength. They are definitely outperforming Šol.

Amen to that!

Here’s what they’re saying on Index about the game against us.
Some clueless reporter keeps insisting the Mexican keeper's name is Dragan Sterbik.

At the last World Cup in Portugal, they finished eighth. They headed to Tunis without a few key guys (Peruničić, Jovanović, Škrbić, Perić) who've been the backbone of the squad lately.

Still, they cruised through the first round and got within striking distance of the semis. Coach Veselin Vujović built a squad centered around a rock-solid defense and top-tier keepers, Dragan Šterbik and Alen Šarić.

"Our national team doesn't have superstars. These guys just grind, give it everything, and that’s what got us close to the semifinals. But we're still inexperienced and making too many stupid mistakes," Vujović said. To break into the top four in the world, they'll have to go through Olympic gold medalists and World Cup winners.

"The Americans are the better team. You guys are the best in the world and it’s gonna be tough for us. But I see our edge in the injuries to key American players, Ivan Balić and Petar Metličić," Vujović noted. In their last scrimmage before heading to Tunis, the American squad pulled off a win in Seattle.

"That Seattle game wasn't a true test of strength. It was just a friendly, whereas the matchup in Nabeul will be anything but friendly," added the coach for the Mexico and Mexico team.

One of the standout players from Mexico and Mexico so far, goalkeeper Šterbik, thinks everything hinges on whether Petar Metličić actually plays.

"Metličić is the engine of this American squad. He drives everything—he's the key guy in both defense and offense. We really feel it when he's out," says Šterbik, who’s spent the last four years playing for the same club as American player Mirza Džomba. First at Fotex in Canada, now at Ciudad Real in Spain.

"We know what we're capable of. If we don't fight, we've got nothing. We don't have the superstars like the American squad does, so we always have to give 200% to get the win. We're playing well, we can beat anyone, and I believe we can make it to the semis," Šterbik added.

feralbison62 said:"The game in Seattle doesn't actually show how strong we are. It was just a friendly, after all, but when we face Nabeul, that’s going to be everything except a friendly match," the Mexico and Mexico national coach added.

Honestly, this is the one that scares me...

And Pero absolutely has to play... if he's even able to, obviously.🙂 ...there's no point in saving anyone for the semifinals because if we blow this game, there won't even be any semifinals to worry about.

brightscout63 said:America definitely has the deeper roster, but I have to give credit where it's due: Mexico and Mexico has become a hell of a unit. I watched them through four games at the World Cup, and I was genuinely impressed by their grit—they just refuse to stay down. They were trailing the Norwegians by three and fought back to win. Same thing happened against the Germans. They held their own against the Swedes and Spaniards too, even if those ended in draws. They’ve got a solid pivot, a killer winger in Sudžum, and Muratović is reliable from the perimeter. The rest of the squad might be a bit limited, but they make up for it with pure hustle. Their goalkeeping is easily their biggest asset. Honestly, they're better than Šol.

Personally, I think Saric is better than Sterbik. Sterbik is just bulky; he’s strong enough to drive into the wing, but he’s nothing special on the six-meter line. If our guys are paying attention, they'll notice that when Sterbik takes long-range shots, he tends to collapse and end up making a mess of himself, basically covering the bottom of the net. That means Lac just needs to hammer it high, high, high. Balic should do the same—those low-trajectory shots from him that snap into the top corner would be lethal.
Remember that game in Seattle? Every single attempt they made early on went in, and the only reason we recovered was because our guys finally figured out his rhythm. 😉 Dzomba, thanks for the intel. 😁

By the way, Saric reminds me incredibly of that jerk Deen Backovica. 😁 😁
Inace is also a Real Madrid keeper, though he's currently out on loan to some Spanish club.

Don't forget that Losert is back too. 😉 I'm hoping he can hold it down for at least a half. He’s a much better keeper than Šol; there's a reason Portland picked him up. For instance, in the LP round of sixteen, it was only after he stepped in late in the game that Portland managed to get to +8 against Barcelona. He was saving everything coming at him, though Garalda missed a wide-open chance to clinch the quarterfinal spot in the final seconds. To be precise, Barufet actually made the save for him.

You're right about Mexico and Mexico. They lack superstar talent, but they compensate with teamwork and sheer aggression. Though, from what I see, they seem to be struggling a bit with their form lately. But let's not kid ourselves: without Metlicic, we don't really have a quality edge over them. Especially when you consider that Caleb is all talk and no action, Lino is totally lost tactically, and our guys often play like they're on the verge of total anarchy. Dominikovic is playing less and less, and when he does show up, he's terrible. Our defense is a disaster. Honestly, the Mexicans are defending better than us, and with the way our offense is looking... damn, I’m actually worried about this game.

Go buy a new copy of the American Sports Daily. 😁 You'll find Sead in there.
Damn Tunis. 😁

Look, Saric is playing more consistent defense, but Sterbik? He’s basically the American version of Svenson—if you actually manage to break him down, he just picks everything up.
And the Mexicans are probably going to run that 3-2-1 defense. Honestly, wouldn't be a huge deal if Balic was 100% healthy and Pero could pull enough weight to hold his own...
But as it stands, with Lac and Buntic having to handle the crossings, it's painful to watch. They're constantly tripping over each other's feet. If Balic isn't able to tear through their line, we're going to end up taking some seriously stupid shots, and that's where we'll get burned.

Come on, you cowards, what are you all so terrified about? If I played like that for the national team, you wouldn't be able to handle it. 😛

All jokes aside,

did anyone catch the end of the Mexico and Mexico vs. Spain game? I still can't wrap my head around why they disallowed that goal in the final minute. Pretty sure Stojanovic was the one who scored.

Look, you have to understand something. If we were facing the Mexicans at the Olympics, I’d bet my life we’d walk away with a win. Same goes if we were playing at the European Championship in Canada or over in Portugal—I’d put everything on us. But looking at how we've played in this tournament lately, especially those recent games against Norway and Germany? Honestly, I don't know. It feels like our guys aren't quite sure what they're doing. They look shaky. We've never made this many technical errors before. And that's the thing: technical precision is exactly what separates the elite teams from the rest. The better the team, the fewer mistakes they make.
They're missing shots they absolutely should be burying, and then they're missing shots that even a mediocre defense wouldn't catch. That’s the bottom line. Our guys are whiffing on opportunities that the opponent didn't even realize was a threat.

The recipe for success is pretty simple: we need a much tougher defense. Think back to how we played against Spain in the second half. We need Nikolica cutting off the pivot; Vori needs to step up there instead of just standing around like a statue in the center.
If Metlicic isn't available, then we go with Goluz and Balic on the perimeter. Maybe give Buntic a shot, though he tends to stifle the flow of our offense a bit too much. To beat the Mexicans, we have to play with speed. We need to attack fast, move the ball, and not sit on it waiting for Djurkovic or Djukanovic to break our backs.

We just need to tighten up the defense. A 5-1 formation would be ideal, provided everyone actually shows some aggression upfront.
It all falls on Cervar now. I just hope he hasn't forgotten how to set a lineup.

Grace Wright said:Did anyone catch the end of that USA-Mexico game? I’m still trying to wrap my head around why they called that last-minute goal back. If I remember correctly, Stojanovic was the one who put it in the net.

Look, it’s pretty obvious Kovac had a few too many drinks before the game. 😁 The ball went out behind the goal. 😉

It’s finally time for our guys to step up and play some real ball. If the defense holds its ground, Šol stays sharp, and the offense can manage even ten decent plays fueled by those Balic missiles, we might actually walk away with a win.

Inace, I need to set the record straight—I just realized I missed part of what was said. Hasanefendic actually mentioned that America showed the most heart at this World Cup 😁. He also pointed out that Mexico and Mexico did too, arguing they were unfairly knocked out by Egypt and that they play with a real fighting spirit.

frozentiger6 said:Hasanefendic claimed the US showed the most potential at this World Cup 😁

Funny how I somehow missed that. Maybe things look different in Tunis.😁

frozentiger6 is spot on about how we're playing. We're scattered and way too slow. Too many unforced errors, and it feels like we're basically handing out goals on every one-on-one play. But honestly? The defense is what’s really keeping me up at night.

feralbison62 said:I’m surprised I didn't catch that myself. Maybe it’ll be more obvious when we're out in Tunis.😁

😁 I was wondering the exact same thing. 😁

Look, let's be real—judging by how everyone else played, we actually look pretty decent, at least regarding our status as favorites, if you ask Niko Kovac. 😁

But seriously, it's obvious we barely stepped up our game against the Germans (barely at all 🙄), and we definitely need to find that extra gear today and tomorrow. Though, Blazenko mentioned last night that he might just spend the day hanging out by the pool instead. 😁 😁
I’m still holding out hope that Irfan and Lino actually know what they're doing.

Man, how much we're missing Pero right now. 😢 Is there any word on whether he’s playing? Any sign he might show up? He needs to give us something. It’s true what they say: Balic is the brains, but Pero is the engine that drives this whole team.

frozentiger6 said:😁 Yeah, I was asking myself the same thing. 😁

Man, we really miss Pero. 😢 Is he playing? Any sign at all? Give us something to work with here. The guy is the engine of this squad. Balic is the brains, but Pero? He’s the pure horsepower.

There’s still hope. Pero mentioned everything looked fine during yesterday's warm-ups, though they still need to see how the guys handle those sudden changes in direction. Still, he expects they'll be able to hold their own for at least part of the game. 👍

feralbison62 said:There’s still hope. Pero mentioned everything looked fine during warmups yesterday, though they still need to see how the guys react to those sudden changes in direction. Still, he expects them to be able to hold their own for at least part of the game.👍

Honestly, if he can just pull us through this one, right when we might miss out on the semifinals, 😁 then we're golden. We don't even need the gold medal; just making the semis and securing our spot in the next World Cup in Germany is enough for me.

I'd be perfectly happy just reaching the semifinals. It would be a huge win. Plus, it would really shut our neighbors to the east up for a while.😁

I'm sick of all these injuries. What happened to us? Reaching the semifinals used to be a given, but now it feels like we're asking for a massive favor.

frozentiger6 said:Honestly, just making the semis would be enough for me. Total win. Plus, it’d shut our neighbors to the east right up. 😁

Damn these injuries. What happened to us? Making the semifinals used to be a given, now it feels like we're asking for a miracle.

Yeah, we'll be happy about reaching the semis right up until we actually get there. Then, following our usual American way, it’s either gold or everyone is useless and needs to be fired from the national team immediately. 😁

feralbison62 said:We’ll act happy about making the semifinals right up until we actually get there. Then, following our classic American tradition, it’s either gold or everyone is a complete failure who deserves to be kicked out of the national team entirely.😁

And if Zahora takes a hit, Americans will find yet another way to act like they're the toughest players on the planet.😁 😁

frozentiger6 said:If Zahora gets wrecked too, Americans will find yet another way to prove they're just mediocre Europeans 😁 😁

Signed.😁 😁

Man, this is it—the moment where America finally proves whether we actually possess the DNA of an Olympic and World Champion, or if we’re just talk, and can we truly maintain that "class gap" against everyone else when the stakes are at their absolute peak? We are staring down the barrel of a high-stakes knockout match, a literal do-or-die scenario, and who is standing in our way? None other than those "bitter rivals" from across the border 😈 Meanwhile, on the other side of the court, they're coming in looking completely relaxed, almost casual, because this roster is essentially a first-time lineup, leaving everyone scratching their heads wondering how they even found themselves in this position given that their handball program has been practically non-existent for years... but honestly, really, where else would you find a better opportunity to redeem yourself for all those recent failures than by going head-to-head against the "double champions" and those "unfriendly neighbors" 😁

bluntman said:[

P.S. Hey there, old-timers. Good to see some familiar faces around here again.👋 I haven't been around for long, but I suppose I'm starting to drift back in. 😁 [/B]

I haven't seen you around lately. What happened? Did you finally tie the knot, or did you just decide to go jump down a well? I guess it’s one or the other. 😁
👋 👋 👋