The 27th World Handball Championship 2021!

[Lucius]

There is also some news about some stomach flu or whatever among our players with Duvnjak hit bad. If he gets rested a bit more than this handi simply must pass

Today it was confirmed that all players will be ready to play, especially Duvnjak and Martinovic who were the hardest hit by the stomach flu. This is a match in which Croatia can solve everything and calmly welcome the match with Denmark, and the pressure is likely to be very high - but I think their form is rising from game to game. I'm not sure what to expect from the game in terms of results, but for me personally all three outcomes are possible for Croatia - they can win with a 5+ difference, but I would not be surprised if they play a draw or lose with a minimal difference.

[Trofo]

There is also some news about some stomach flu or whatever among our players with Duvnjak hit bad. If he gets rested a bit more than this handi simply must pass

Today it was confirmed that all players will be ready to play, especially Duvnjak and Martinovic who were the hardest hit by the stomach flu.

They will play but I am quite sure that Duvnjak needs some rest and we should take the opportunity to do so if the results permits. As you said this is very important match and we have to win to secure next phase of competition. We can't count on points against Denmark.

I am going with my polish friends again today with two bets, although Hungary got some praise in here lately^^ Normally Hungary should and will win this, but nearly @5 for Poland is too high. The HC is only +2.5/-2.5 and I don't see a lot of value there, but ML is worth a try with smallish stakes.

I agree that @5 for Poland is too high and worth putting something on but I also said that I will bet on Hungary till the end of the competition since they really impressed me. Their keeper is world class and their attack is scoring easy goals but I expected bigger odds on them. Skipping it for tonight. Handicap on Argentina is enough plus some football.

[cryptofrka]

Oh come on, I had Spain team total over 40,5, they scored 24 in the first half. They scored 34 goals in 45 minutes and were then 8 minutes without a goal, missing a penalty, 2 fast breaks and receiving multiple suspensions during that period.

They ended with 38, scoring only 4 in the last 15 minutes. Against Uruguay, unbelievable.

[Mauser]

Oh come on, I had Spain team total over 40,5, they scored 24 in the first half. They scored 34 goals in 45 minutes and were then 8 minutes without a goal, missing a penalty, 2 fast breaks and receiving multiple suspensions during that period.

They ended with 38, scoring only 4 in the last 15 minutes. Against Uruguay, unbelievable.

That is really unlucky. Hope you didn't lose too much.

 So far I didn't bet on any matches yet and just keep watching for now. Maybe I bet a little on Germany vs Brazil for tonight, should be a save win with a small profit.

[Trofo]

What a start from Croatia, we managed to score one goal in first 14 minutes of the match. Looking very sad for our medal aspirations but very good for my handicap Good way to manage the disappointment. I expected out attack to have problems but not this severe.

[Daniel91]

What a start from Croatia, we managed to score one goal in first 14 minutes of the match. Looking very sad for our medal aspirations but very good for my handicap Good way to manage the disappointment. I expected out attack to have problems but not this severe.

Croatia 's match with Argentina is one of the worst matches Croatia has ever played.
At times they looked like rookies, with no idea in attack and like they were playing defenseless.
After the match, Coach Cervar was supposed to calm the situation and encourage the team for the decisive match with Denmark.
Instead, he resigned and brought additional chaos and turmoil to the team.
This looks very bad and I'm afraid that as early as tomorrow, Croatian could be out of the tournament.

[Lucius]

This looks very bad and I'm afraid that as early as tomorrow, Croatian could be out of the tournament.

Croatia should beat Denmark, and Argentina should lose to Qatar - the chances for that are really minimal considering how Croatia played last night. This will surely remain in history as one of the strangest games for Croatia, and the defeat would have been even greater if it were not for the great defenses of our goalkeeper, and the only player who practically scored all the goals in the first half.

Croatian media say that former national team player Niksa Kaleb best described the situation after the game by stating :

"Osjećam se kao nekakav kamen. Šokiran sam. Ovo nisam mogao zamisliti ni u najgorim snovima. Jedino me može probuditi da me netko opali šakom u glavu, a možda bi to bilo i dobro jer bi onda barem netko napravio faul večeras", rekao je šokirani Kaleb.

"I feel like some kind of stone. I'm shocked. I could not imagine this even in my worst dreams. It can only wake me up if someone punches me in the head, and maybe that would be good because then at least someone would commit a foul tonight", said the shocked Kaleb.

[cryptofrka]

Croatia should beat Denmark, and Argentina should lose to Qatar - the chances for that are really minimal considering how Croatia played last night. This will surely remain in history as one of the strangest games for Croatia, and the defeat would have been even greater if it were not for the great defenses of our goalkeeper, and the only player who practically scored all the goals in the first half.

Not really minimal, I'd say we have a solid chance. Denmark played without Hansen against Japan and struggled a bit, they will probably rest the team heavily against us because they have the top spot no matter what.

Argentina-Qatar will be a tough one to predict but the latest H2H goes in Qatar's favor and they are not a bad team - it will be physical and probably really close until the end.

Regarding Kaleb's statement, I heard it yesterday and laughed my ass off. He's a funny guy, was always one of my favorites.

[Trofo]

Watching France vs. Portugal now. Can't pin down French performances in this competition. They played really bad against some week teams but also won against Norway and now they are destroying Portugal. Can't believe it is just the case of serious approach towards opponents. Good thing I stopped betting on their games, you just can't know what sort of performance will the French have.

[cryptofrka]

I bet on France yesterday, first at 2.35 odds and a minute before the match began at 2.55. I expected a much closer game but France can be such a heavy outsider only against Denmark.

They have upped their game significantly, I think it's between them and Denmark for the gold. That said, I think I'll make a cheeky bid on Croatia today - Denmark will be playing with reserves.

[Lucius]

Not really minimal, I'd say we have a solid chance. Denmark played without Hansen against Japan and struggled a bit, they will probably rest the team heavily against us because they have the top spot no matter what.

Well, I'm just reading how the Danish national team was hit by the same stomach virus that appeared in the Croatian team, so today they could almost certainly play without their biggest star Mikkel Hansen, but also some other important players.

Argentina-Qatar will be a tough one to predict but the latest H2H goes in Qatar's favor and they are not a bad team - it will be physical and probably really close until the end.

Interestingly, Qatar is also still in the game for second place if they beat Argentina and Croatia loses to Denmark, so they will certainly have a motive to play the best game possible.

Regarding Kaleb's statement, I heard it yesterday and laughed my ass off. He's a funny guy, was always one of my favorites.

Well, as a commentator of the match, he repeated countless times that it is not clear to him why no one commits fouls in defense - while on the other hand the Argentines played very dirty handball, which resulted in a lot of exclusions and a red card for one of their players. The man just told the truth, because watching a game like that was really frustrating - I wouldn't be surprised if he showed up on the field and showed the players how to play defense

[tyKiwanuka]

Well, I'm just reading how the Danish national team was hit by the same stomach virus that appeared in the Croatian team, so today they could almost certainly play without their biggest star Mikkel Hansen, but also some other important players.

Yes, Mikkel Hansen (and Johan Hansen) already missed the game against Japan. Hald and Gidsel got sick yesterday and stayed in hotel, while 3 others players are feeling unwell. Otoh Denmark got Emil Jakobsen back and he didn't fail to disappoint, scoring 12 goals in his debut at this WC. I wouldn't jump on Croatia right away though, but wait for the result from Argentina game. I do think they want to restore their pride and we will see a different showing today, but if they are out already before the game, a lot of motivation might be gone despite the pride factor.

-

I remember the german team doc getting asked what he fears most from a medical point of view. And he said gastrointestinal illness, because it's so common for foreigners travelling there and could put your tournament success in jeopardy easily. Because of this, all german players started a perenterol treatment 10 days before flying to Egypt.

[Trofo]

Well, I'm just reading how the Danish national team was hit by the same stomach virus that appeared in the Croatian team, so today they could almost certainly play without their biggest star Mikkel Hansen, but also some other important players.

Yes, Mikkel Hansen (and Johan Hansen) already missed the game against Japan. Hald and Gidsel got sick yesterday and stayed in hotel, while 3 others players are feeling unwell. Otoh Denmark got Emil Jakobsen back and he didn't fail to disappoint, scoring 12 goals in his debut at this WC. I wouldn't jump on Croatia right away though, but wait for the result from Argentina game. I do think they want to restore their pride and we will see a different showing today, but if they are out already before the game, a lot of motivation might be gone despite the pride factor.

I am jumping on Croatia immediately and playing it as double with Qatar That will be for smaller stake and then later on I will probably add more if Croatia has something to play for and odds don't drop too much.

I expect Denmark to play without many first players and others will also probably look o save some strength. This could be our chance to get back in the competition and then get destroyed in the next match.

[cryptofrka]

I just saw Argentina portrayed as a heavy outsider, with odds placed at 3+. No matter what I said yesterday, I simply cannot miss odds like these in a game in which I feel 2-3 balls will decide the winner.

I also agree with tyKiwanuka, I won't be placing any bets on Croatia-Denmark game before I see the outcome of this one. I think we can beat Denmark if we need to, if we don't, I expect us to lose by 10 goals difference - even against their reserve team.

[Mauser]

I just saw Argentina portrayed as a heavy outsider, with odds placed at 3+. No matter what I said yesterday, I simply cannot miss odds like these in a game in which I feel 2-3 balls will decide the winner.

I also agree with tyKiwanuka, I won't be placing any bets on Croatia-Denmark game before I see the outcome of this one. I think we can beat Denmark if we need to, if we don't, I expect us to lose by 10 goals difference - even against their reserve team.

Argentina definitely played well and If there are decent odds it could be a great way to hedge our big bets. But after all these games so far you have to give it to Spain. They are just such a strong team and play great handball. Unfortunately the payoff is so small when betting on Spain.

[Trofo]

I just saw Argentina portrayed as a heavy outsider, with odds placed at 3+. No matter what I said yesterday, I simply cannot miss odds like these in a game in which I feel 2-3 balls will decide the winner.

Those odds are spot on for me. I hoped for even bigger odds on Argentina and possibility to play +3.5 handicap on them. The game will be low scoring one and decided on couple of balls. When you look H2H you can see that Qatar had much more success in the past and when push comes to shove that will give them a bit of confidence needed to win.

As I said low scoring game for sure but bookies know this and goals line has been put at 48.5 which is really risky. Wanted to play this game for high stake but margins and odds are too well placed for me to find any value.

[Daniel91]

What a drama in the match between Qatar and Argentina!
Croatian fans must have followed this match with great nervousness and fear 
Argentina did better for most of the match and had a scoring advantage but in the end Qatar won 26:25.
Great news for Croatian team!
Now Croatia just needs to beat Denmark 
A large number of Danish players have been poisoned by food and have intestinal problems, so maybe this fact will help Croatia.

[cryptofrka]

Argentina was simply awful in the last 10 minutes

I had a decent bet on them, watched it and they really have only themselves to blame. Silly closings to both the 1st half and the end of the game cost them the quarterfinals. They didn't last 5 seconds in attack without making some kind of technical error.

2.30 on Croatia looks like a gift from the bookies, I'm sure they know something we do not. I'll still bite, looks too good to be true.

[Trofo]

2.30 on Croatia looks like a gift from the bookies, I'm sure they know something we do not. I'll still bite, looks too good to be true.

It is not 2.30 any more it has already fallen to under 1.6. Called all the games perfectly so far, now waiting just for Croatia to cash out big. I am already in the green but Croatian victory with Karacic scoring at least 2 goals and Maric scoring at least 4 goals would be a cherry on the top

[deadthings]

At first I always thought this was a very boring sport. After looking at some images, I have to come back to this opinion. It is also very intensive. In terms of donation you have to be much better than playing football. No idea who is the favorite.