2023 IHF Men's World Handball Championship

[slackovic]

I didn't see any thread about the handball world championship that will take place from 11 to 29 January 2023. It will be hosted by Poland and Sweden. Since it starts in just 14 days, I thought it would be a good time to start a discussion thread.

The biggest favorite to win the championship is Denmark who is two times defending champion. The championship will start with the opening game Poland vs. France. Who do you think will win this year? Will it be Denmark again to win it three times in a row or some other country like France?

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[yazher]

I need to admit it, I never heard such a sport exist, to be honest, I am more curious and when I watch it on Youtube, it's just a copy-paste of football but this time they use their hands. Anyway, this is a chance to watch because I see that it is interesting as well because of how hard you can score against your enemy. This is the time to learn its rules and might be a fun game to play when you have only small spaces in your places.

Then the teams that are in the same group as Denmark might probably working as hard as they can to bypass Denmark, it might be a slight chance but do they also have an upsetting win in their past matches?

[Sithara007]

The last time I watched handball was during Tokyo 2021 Olympics. And before that, I guess it was during the Jakarta Palembang 2018 Asian Games. It is good to know that the International Handball Federation is organizing a mega tournament this time, with a total of 32 participants. I like the format, which ensures diversity and representation from each of the Continental Confederations. The only thing I am not comfortable with is the fact that they decided to disqualify Russia (one of the strongest teams in handball). 

[slackovic]

I need to admit it, I never heard such a sport exist, to be honest, I am more curious and when I watch it on Youtube, it's just a copy-paste of football but this time they use their hands. Anyway, this is a chance to watch because I see that it is interesting as well because of how hard you can score against your enemy. This is the time to learn its rules and might be a fun game to play when you have only small spaces in your places.

Then the teams that are in the same group as Denmark might probably working as hard as they can to bypass Denmark, it might be a slight chance but do they also have an upsetting win in their past matches?

The game is probably more familiar to European people. There's not much interest for the game outside Europe, although there are some nations outside Europe that are solid like Tunis. The game is played faster than football and it's mostly played in front of each goal. I don't follow handball that much except when there is world cup or euro cup.

The last time I watched handball was during Tokyo 2021 Olympics. And before that, I guess it was during the Jakarta Palembang 2018 Asian Games. It is good to know that the International Handball Federation is organizing a mega tournament this time, with a total of 32 participants. I like the format, which ensures diversity and representation from each of the Continental Confederations. The only thing I am not comfortable with is the fact that they decided to disqualify Russia (one of the strongest teams in handball).  

I agree with you that Russia shouldn't have been disqualified but I think we all know why IHF did that. But to say that they are one of the strongest teams in handball is a bit of exaggeration. There are better teams like Denmark, France, Spain, Germany...

[Yogee]

I was searching for odds for the team that will win the tournament and I also saw odds for friendly matches. I'm surprised they still do that despite the tournament going to be held in just a couple of weeks or maybe it's not Men's?

....Who do you think will win this year? Will it be Denmark again to win it three times in a row or some other country like France?

I really don't know but it's going to be one of those European powerhouse for sure. Countries in other regions are way behind in the odds and probably for a good reason.

[slackovic]

I was searching for odds for the team that will win the tournament and I also saw odds for friendly matches. I'm surprised they still do that despite the tournament going to be held in just a couple of weeks or maybe it's not Men's?

....Who do you think will win this year? Will it be Denmark again to win it three times in a row or some other country like France?

I really don't know but it's going to be one of those European powerhouse for sure. Countries in other regions are way behind in the odds and probably for a good reason.

Where did you see odds for friendly games during the World Cup? It's men cup and I don't see any men friendly games scheduled to be played during the World Cup (11-28 January 2023).

Yeah, the winner will most probably be from Europe because it's mostly an European sport. Like I said, only few nations outside Europe like Tunis and maybe Egipt are solid but they aren't strong enough to win the World Cup. In fact, I don't think that there ever was a nation outside Europe that won the World Cup.

[Yogee]

I was searching for odds for the team that will win the tournament and I also saw odds for friendly matches. I'm surprised they still do that despite the tournament going to be held in just a couple of weeks or maybe it's not Men's?

....Who do you think will win this year? Will it be Denmark again to win it three times in a row or some other country like France?

I really don't know but it's going to be one of those European powerhouse for sure. Countries in other regions are way behind in the odds and probably for a good reason.

Where did you see odds for friendly games during the World Cup? It's men cup and I don't see any men friendly games scheduled to be played during the World Cup (11-28 January 2023).

I saw at least two upcoming friendlies like Brazil vs. Korea Republic on Rollbit which is underway as we speak. Poland vs. Tunisia to start in a couple of hours. The reason I'm surprised is that it's too closed to the date of the World Cup.
 

Yeah, the winner will most probably be from Europe because it's mostly an European sport. Like I said, only few nations outside Europe like Tunis and maybe Egipt are solid but they aren't strong enough to win the World Cup. In fact, I don't think that there ever was a nation outside Europe that won the World Cup.

I was expecting some countries in South America to have lower odds while browsing but bookies have different numbers hehe.

[dothebeats]

The last time I watched handball was during Tokyo 2021 Olympics. And before that, I guess it was during the Jakarta Palembang 2018 Asian Games. It is good to know that the International Handball Federation is organizing a mega tournament this time, with a total of 32 participants. I like the format, which ensures diversity and representation from each of the Continental Confederations. The only thing I am not comfortable with is the fact that they decided to disqualify Russia (one of the strongest teams in handball). 

I think there is no other decision as of now amongst international sports organizations but to disqualify Russia and ban them on upcoming games due to their invasion of Ukraine. For them, including Russia on events that are international might seem like they are turning a blind eye on what the current events are. It's a shame that these guys cannot play in this international tournament, and there is always an option to bear the flag of other countries in order to compete but hey, at least they are patriotic enough to not turn a blind eye on their motherland.


Currently watching the friendlies between Brazil and Korea and I must say I'm weirded out seeing people throwing the ball passionately and seeing that the goal post is very similar to football I think I've watched a few games of handball before but not at this level. Their coordination and their speed (especially the defenders) are on another level, considering that the ball that they're tossing around is really small to block or catch. Rooting for Brazil to win since their coordination is top tier and man, those blocks from the goalie is something else.

[Sithara007]

I think there is no other decision as of now amongst international sports organizations but to disqualify Russia and ban them on upcoming games due to their invasion of Ukraine. For them, including Russia on events that are international might seem like they are turning a blind eye on what the current events are. It's a shame that these guys cannot play in this international tournament, and there is always an option to bear the flag of other countries in order to compete but hey, at least they are patriotic enough to not turn a blind eye on their motherland.

During Tokyo 2021, Russian athletes competed under the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) flag. If they want to ban Russia it is OK, but don't ban the Russian athletes if they are playing under a different flag. And I don't think that only Ukrainian lives are important. Why no ban on the US, after they bombed Libya back to the stone age? Is it because Libyan lives are worth less than Ukrainian ones? Anyway who do you think will win the world cup this time? Denmark, Sweden and Norway are the top three teams as per the latest IHF rankings.

[slackovic]

I think there is no other decision as of now amongst international sports organizations but to disqualify Russia and ban them on upcoming games due to their invasion of Ukraine. For them, including Russia on events that are international might seem like they are turning a blind eye on what the current events are. It's a shame that these guys cannot play in this international tournament, and there is always an option to bear the flag of other countries in order to compete but hey, at least they are patriotic enough to not turn a blind eye on their motherland.

During Tokyo 2021, Russian athletes competed under the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) flag. If they want to ban Russia it is OK, but don't ban the Russian athletes if they are playing under a different flag. And I don't think that only Ukrainian lives are important. Why no ban on the US, after they bombed Libya back to the stone age? Is it because Libyan lives are worth less than Ukrainian ones? Anyway who do you think will win the world cup this time? Denmark, Sweden and Norway are the top three teams as per the latest IHF rankings.

I completely agree. I said that when we were discussion Russia being banned from the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. I understand that the whole world wants to punish Russia for what they are doing in Ukraine, but why punish players who have nothing to do with that? The solution is what you mentioned - to allow Russian players to compete under a neutral flag.
But I also agree that Russia is not the only one that is killing innocent people. There are so many other senseless wars going on in the world and the world should take the same stand for every aggressor.

[LTU_btc]

Probably I'm not going to follow this championship very closely as my country haven't qualified to it. From last Euro championship I remember great final between Spain and Sweden, these teams is strong again, though, Denmark and France is rated a bit better.
BTW, why African teams names aren't displayed in image? It's Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egyp and Cape Verde.

The only thing I am not comfortable with is the fact that they decided to disqualify Russia (one of the strongest teams in handball). 

One of the strongest teams in handball? C'mon, return from 2000, they're not powerhouse anymore and their performances in previous EURO and Wolrd Championships in last maybe 15 years shows it.

I need to admit it, I never heard such a sport exist, to be honest, I am more curious and when I watch it on Youtube, it's just a copy-paste of football but this time they use their hands.

I know that handball isn't thing outside Europe, but I surprised that people haven't even heard about it before.

I understand that the whole world wants to punish Russia for what they are doing in Ukraine, but why punish players who have nothing to do with that? The solution is what you mentioned - to allow Russian players to compete under a neutral flag.
But I also agree that Russia is not the only one that is killing innocent people. There are so many other senseless wars going on in the world and the world should take the same stand for every aggressor.

It's long discussion and maybe this topic isn't right place, but I'll give my point of view. Do you think  Russian people (including athletes) aren't responsible for actions of president of their country, who got elected by majority of votes? And especially when many athletes support war in Ukraine (or how they call it - special operation) in public. I don't think it would be right decision to let them play, but I'm not trying to change your opinion, as you won't be able to change mine.

[Sithara007]

I completely agree. I said that when we were discussion Russia being banned from the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. I understand that the whole world wants to punish Russia for what they are doing in Ukraine, but why punish players who have nothing to do with that? The solution is what you mentioned - to allow Russian players to compete under a neutral flag.
But I also agree that Russia is not the only one that is killing innocent people. There are so many other senseless wars going on in the world and the world should take the same stand for every aggressor.

Same thing is happening in other sports as well. A lot of people even want to ban individual Russian athletes and the best example is that of tennis players such as Daniil Medvedev. And more interestingly, some of the players want him banned because of his citizenship. A ban would benefit these players, as it will impact the ranking.

One of the strongest teams in handball? C'mon, return from 2000, they're not powerhouse anymore and their performances in previous EURO and Wolrd Championships in last maybe 15 years shows it.

Whatever be their recent performance, Russia would rank among the top-10 teams (their ranking International Handball Federation (IHF) ranking maybe lower because they haven't played for some time now as a result of the ban).

[slackovic]

Probably I'm not going to follow this championship very closely as my country haven't qualified to it. From last Euro championship I remember great final between Spain and Sweden, these teams is strong again, though, Denmark and France is rated a bit better.
BTW, why African teams names aren't displayed in image? It's Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egyp and Cape Verde.

I'm not sure. I saw it after I posted the image. Maybe the image was created before some final qualifying period for the African teams.

I know that handball isn't thing outside Europe, but I surprised that people haven't even heard about it before.

Yeah, it surprises me too when I find out that someone hasn't heard of handball. It's not that old a sport (the first game at the Olympics was played 1936 in Berlin), but I somehow thought that everyone should at least heard of it. I don't follow cricket and never watched it play but I heard of it

It's long discussion and maybe this topic isn't right place, but I'll give my point of view. Do you think  Russian people (including athletes) aren't responsible for actions of president of their country, who got elected by majority of votes? And especially when many athletes support war in Ukraine (or how they call it - special operation) in public. I don't think it would be right decision to let them play, but I'm not trying to change your opinion, as you won't be able to change mine.

I really don't want to bring politics to this thread so let's leave it at this. OK?


Some news about yesterday's friendly games that were played as a preparation for the championship:
Tunisia beat Brazil 29 - 24
Romania beat Algeria 33 - 25
Poland beat S. Korea 31 - 27
Egypt beat Slovakia 33 - 29
Croatia beat Italy 40 - 26

It looks like there were no surprises in the games that were played yesterday. Maybe a surprise could be Croatia winning against Italy with that big goal difference, but I'm not sure how strong Italy is. And I know that Croatia isn't the biggest favorite to win the World Cup, but they are always close.

[Sithara007]

I really don't want to bring politics to this thread so let's leave it at this. OK?

Agreed. No more politics here.

For fans in India: TV channels are not going to cover this tournament live. You can watch all the matches live on the official YouTube channel of the International Handball Federation. These streams will not be available in Europe, as IHF is having a broadcast agreement with Viaplay. Last time in 2019, IHF was having an agreement with beIN SPORTS, who broadcasted all of the matches live. Still there is a lot of time to go and IHF may enter in to media agreement with other broadcasters for countries outside Europe. 

[slackovic]

I really don't want to bring politics to this thread so let's leave it at this. OK?

Agreed. No more politics here.

For fans in India: TV channels are not going to cover this tournament live. You can watch all the matches live on the official YouTube channel of the International Handball Federation. These streams will not be available in Europe, as IHF is having a broadcast agreement with Viaplay. Last time in 2019, IHF was having an agreement with beIN SPORTS, who broadcasted all of the matches live. Still there is a lot of time to go and IHF may enter in to media agreement with other broadcasters for countries outside Europe. 

I wonder how many viewers outside Europe actually watch handball. I guess that during the last World Cup when beIN was broadcasting the World Cup in India not much viewers followed it so this year they decided that it's not worth the money.

[Sithara007]

I wonder how many viewers outside Europe actually watch handball. I guess that during the last World Cup when beIN was broadcasting the World Cup in India not much viewers followed it so this year they decided that it's not worth the money.

Well.. I am residing in India, and sorry to say that handball is not very popular here. Cricket is the main sport in India. Apart from cricket, some of the other sports such as football, tennis, badminton, field hockey and wrestling are also somewhat popular. But handball is mostly confined to school and university tournaments and there is hardly any club structure outside it. Most of the Indians watch handball when the Indian team participates in Olympics, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games.

Now the 2023 World Men's Handball Championship may not attract much viewership in India primarily for two reasons - first of all the Indian team is not participating. And secondly, there is not much advertising. But during the last few years, there is a rising interest within India regarding some of the "new" sports, such as rugby, baseball and netball. If the IHF provides some support for the Handball Federation of the India (HFI), then I am sure that the sport will become popular in India as well.

[slackovic]

I wonder how many viewers outside Europe actually watch handball. I guess that during the last World Cup when beIN was broadcasting the World Cup in India not much viewers followed it so this year they decided that it's not worth the money.

Well.. I am residing in India, and sorry to say that handball is not very popular here. Cricket is the main sport in India. Apart from cricket, some of the other sports such as football, tennis, badminton, field hockey and wrestling are also somewhat popular. But handball is mostly confined to school and university tournaments and there is hardly any club structure outside it. Most of the Indians watch handball when the Indian team participates in Olympics, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games.

Now the 2023 World Men's Handball Championship may not attract much viewership in India primarily for two reasons - first of all the Indian team is not participating. And secondly, there is not much advertising. But during the last few years, there is a rising interest within India regarding some of the "new" sports, such as rugby, baseball and netball. If the IHF provides some support for the Handball Federation of the India (HFI), then I am sure that the sport will become popular in India as well.

The biggest problem with handball is that there is not much money in the sport. Not like in football, basketball and other sports that are popular globally. The best handball player will never earn as much as any football player who plays in an European football club. When I see how much Ronaldo will be earning in his new club El Nesyri... I think that one handball club doesn't pay that much money for the whole team.

[Sithara007]

The biggest problem with handball is that there is not much money in the sport. Not like in football, basketball and other sports that are popular globally. The best handball player will never earn as much as any football player who plays in an European football club. When I see how much Ronaldo will be earning in his new club El Nesyri... I think that one handball club doesn't pay that much money for the whole team.

We can't compare handball with sports such as football, basketball (NBA), NFL and NHL. A better comparison will be with sports such as Netball and Softball. And in case of handball, it is an Olympic sports, which guarantees funding from the national sports bodies. I somehow feels that the IHF is not very aggressive, when it comes to finding sponsors and expanding the game. On the other hand, the beach handball championships normally gains a lot of hype, as they advertise the tournament in a very aggressive manner. Especially in the developed nations, a lot of attention is now being given to Olympic sports. If the IHF can come up with a proper expansion plan, then I am sure that the popularity and number of fans will increase outside Europe. And once the popularity goes up, revenue inflows will witness an uptick automatically.

[slackovic]

The biggest problem with handball is that there is not much money in the sport. Not like in football, basketball and other sports that are popular globally. The best handball player will never earn as much as any football player who plays in an European football club. When I see how much Ronaldo will be earning in his new club El Nesyri... I think that one handball club doesn't pay that much money for the whole team.

We can't compare handball with sports such as football, basketball (NBA), NFL and NHL. A better comparison will be with sports such as Netball and Softball. And in case of handball, it is an Olympic sports, which guarantees funding from the national sports bodies. I somehow feels that the IHF is not very aggressive, when it comes to finding sponsors and expanding the game. On the other hand, the beach handball championships normally gains a lot of hype, as they advertise the tournament in a very aggressive manner. Especially in the developed nations, a lot of attention is now being given to Olympic sports. If the IHF can come up with a proper expansion plan, then I am sure that the popularity and number of fans will increase outside Europe. And once the popularity goes up, revenue inflows will witness an uptick automatically.

I agree. I watched beach handball long time ago (I think it has been 15 years when my ex girlfriend played it). I think that beach handball has somewhat different rules than "normal" handball. They give extra points for attractive goals and that's why it's gaining more attention. At least that were the rules when my ex girlfriend played it. For me handball is not that attractive sport. I'm not saying that it's easy to play, but 90% of the game is infront of each team's goal and I don't like it. But that's my personal opinion.

[klidex]

I wonder how many viewers outside Europe actually watch handball. I guess that during the last World Cup when beIN was broadcasting the World Cup in India not much viewers followed it so this year they decided that it's not worth the money.

Well.. I am residing in India, and sorry to say that handball is not very popular here. Cricket is the main sport in India. Apart from cricket, some of the other sports such as football, tennis, badminton, field hockey and wrestling are also somewhat popular. But handball is mostly confined to school and university tournaments and there is hardly any club structure outside it. Most of the Indians watch handball when the Indian team participates in Olympics, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games.

Now the 2023 World Men's Handball Championship may not attract much viewership in India primarily for two reasons - first of all the Indian team is not participating. And secondly, there is not much advertising. But during the last few years, there is a rising interest within India regarding some of the "new" sports, such as rugby, baseball and netball. If the IHF provides some support for the Handball Federation of the India (HFI), then I am sure that the sport will become popular in India as well.

The biggest problem with handball is that there is not much money in the sport. Not like in football, basketball and other sports that are popular globally. The best handball player will never earn as much as any football player who plays in an European football club. When I see how much Ronaldo will be earning in his new club El Nesyri... I think that one handball club doesn't pay that much money for the whole team.

Yes, of course, when compared, it is clear that the difference is very far away.
In terms of handball fans, there are not that many fans of football and soccer is the most popular sport and even has a world championship event which is always looked forward to by fans and clubs of countries that have great potential in football.
There are only certain countries that still hold handball matches and even then there are very few fans.
So don't compare handball to soccer because they are clearly not compatible at all.

[Sithara007]

I agree. I watched beach handball long time ago (I think it has been 15 years when my ex girlfriend played it). I think that beach handball has somewhat different rules than "normal" handball. They give extra points for attractive goals and that's why it's gaining more attention. At least that were the rules when my ex girlfriend played it. For me handball is not that attractive sport. I'm not saying that it's easy to play, but 90% of the game is infront of each team's goal and I don't like it. But that's my personal opinion.

I have watched handball matches (mostly in Olympics) and I couldn't find much fault with the format. Here in India, back in 2020 the Handball Federation of India launched the Indian Premier Handball League as a joint venture with Bluesport Entertainment Private Limited. However the 2020 and 2021 editions were cancelled due to COVID. Now they are planning for the first edition in 2023, and hopefully it will make the sport more popular in India. Their website looks quite attractive, and I just hope that there will be no further delays:

https://www.premierhandball.com/

[slackovic]

I agree. I watched beach handball long time ago (I think it has been 15 years when my ex girlfriend played it). I think that beach handball has somewhat different rules than "normal" handball. They give extra points for attractive goals and that's why it's gaining more attention. At least that were the rules when my ex girlfriend played it. For me handball is not that attractive sport. I'm not saying that it's easy to play, but 90% of the game is infront of each team's goal and I don't like it. But that's my personal opinion.

I have watched handball matches (mostly in Olympics) and I couldn't find much fault with the format. Here in India, back in 2020 the Handball Federation of India launched the Indian Premier Handball League as a joint venture with Bluesport Entertainment Private Limited. However the 2020 and 2021 editions were cancelled due to COVID. Now they are planning for the first edition in 2023, and hopefully it will make the sport more popular in India. Their website looks quite attractive, and I just hope that there will be no further delays:

https://www.premierhandball.com/

Actions like that really contributes to bring more popularity to a sport. However, the problem is what will happen when money from the IHF dries out (or gets smaller) and there are no local businesses that will sponsor clubs. Similar thing happened in Croatia when they tried popularizing ice hockey. A local club was admitted to the international league that brought more quality players and games. Everything went great, the ring was packed with fans, the team and the atmosphere around the club was really good. But then the club started to get less and less money from the league and then everything fell apart.

Maybe this trial in India will be better because IHF is involved.

[Sithara007]

Actions like that really contributes to bring more popularity to a sport. However, the problem is what will happen when money from the IHF dries out (or gets smaller) and there are no local businesses that will sponsor clubs. Similar thing happened in Croatia when they tried popularizing ice hockey. A local club was admitted to the international league that brought more quality players and games. Everything went great, the ring was packed with fans, the team and the atmosphere around the club was really good. But then the club started to get less and less money from the league and then everything fell apart.

Maybe this trial in India will be better because IHF is involved.

I really hope that this league (Indian Premier Handball League) will become successful, but already it has been postponed a few times. Some of the similar ventures ended up as failure, and I don't want this league to end up like them. Hockey India League (HIL) was launched with great fanfare back in 2013 and it sank without any trace. Sponsors are available in India, but the sports body needs to prove that they have the potential to attract new fans. And for the Handball league, apart from the IHF they also received a lot of support from Asian Handball Federation.

[slackovic]

So, the tournament starts in five days and teams are preparing for it by playing international friendly games. I won't list all of the games because there are really a lot of them. I was quite surprised to see that Russia is playing an international game but then I saw that it is against Belarus. I guess two countries arranged friendly games because they can't compete in the World Championship. Another interesting fact is that yesterday Russia played their first international game in almost a year. In that time Belarus played only one international game against China back in June 2022.

[Trofo]

This thread needs a bump ASAP. Competition starts today and thread went down so much that I couldn't find it and opened a new one (locked now) Glad to see you here @slackovic so at least I know I will not be the only one rooting for Croatia. We played some good friendlies but we have a lot of injury problems and I am a bit concerned about line up. We shall see on Friday.

As i wrote in that other thread, France should win today and odds @1.4 are not bad at all.

[slackovic]

This thread needs a bump ASAP. Competition starts today and thread went down so much that I couldn't find it and opened a new one (locked now) Glad to see you here @slackovic so at least I know I will not be the only one rooting for Croatia. We played some good friendlies but we have a lot of injury problems and I am a bit concerned about line up. We shall see on Friday.

As i wrote in that other thread, France should win today and odds @1.4 are not bad at all.

I don't think that France will have a problem beating Poland today. Poland is a host and that gives them some advantage but France is... well, France 1.4 odd is not bad and I might take it.

As for Croatia... I don't know. I didn't have time to watch friendly games that were played, but I heard that Croatia won a cup that they hosted as preparation for the World Championship. If I remember correctly, Croatia likes to play like a diesel motor - they start with bad games and improve their form as a tournament progresses.

[Bttzed03]

Handball is one of the better sports to get some money away from the bookies so it would be shame to skip on it

@Trofo, since we're here, what's the secret to this ^? Should we bet mostly on the favorites?

The competition starts today with France-Poland game. Did not watch a lot of friendlies coming up to this competition so I will start slow and check the teams in initial games before placing big bets. Odds @1.4 look fair for France win and H2H is 7:1 for France so I will take that France ML just to make it more interesting to watch.

Since I got intrigued, I'm going to follow your bet Which bookie gives you @1.4? It probably dropped that quickly because it's already @1.32 in my sportsbook. Anyway, still not a bad deal I guess.

Done placing my bet on France. I also checked other bookies and the odds did drop to @1.3ish

[Yatsan]

This thread needs a bump ASAP. Competition starts today and thread went down so much that I couldn't find it and opened a new one (locked now) Glad to see you here @slackovic so at least I know I will not be the only one rooting for Croatia. We played some good friendlies but we have a lot of injury problems and I am a bit concerned about line up. We shall see on Friday.

As i wrote in that other thread, France should win today and odds @1.4 are not bad at all.

I don't think that France will have a problem beating Poland today. Poland is a host and that gives them some advantage but France is... well, France 1.4 odd is not bad and I might take it.

As for Croatia... I don't know. I didn't have time to watch friendly games that were played, but I heard that Croatia won a cup that they hosted as preparation for the World Championship. If I remember correctly, Croatia likes to play like a diesel motor - they start with bad games and improve their form as a tournament progresses.

France is indeed France. It is a good thing that the leauge started today and as for gamblers, this will be a huge opportunity to look between match ups especially for those who re avid fans of this sport. I'm quite new with this sports but I am into sportsbetting that is why I am trying to cope up with new sports to catch my interest and one of my prospects is handball. Upon reading some of the articles such as with previous tournaments held, these are the nmes which are a bit 'noisy'; France, Croatia, Egypt, and Morroco. So for this game, Ithink I'd go with odds on France to somehow start my path in this league. Would be okay with other suggestions to help me coping up with teams.

[Trofo]

Handball is one of the better sports to get some money away from the bookies so it would be shame to skip on it

@Trofo, since we're here, what's the secret to this ^? Should we bet mostly on the favorites?

The competition starts today with France-Poland game. Did not watch a lot of friendlies coming up to this competition so I will start slow and check the teams in initial games before placing big bets. Odds @1.4 look fair for France win and H2H is 7:1 for France so I will take that France ML just to make it more interesting to watch.

Since I got intrigued, I'm going to follow your bet Which bookie gives you @1.4? It probably dropped that quickly because it's already @1.32 in my sportsbook. Anyway, still not a bad deal I guess.

Done placing my bet on France. I also checked other bookies and the odds did drop to @1.3ish

No, just the opposite we should bet on underdogs to cover handicaps. At least that is what works best for me. bookies often give way too low odds on favorites and there is just no value in betting on them. Other than that there is also players under/over. But it is still too early for that kind of bets, I don't follow handball other than on big competitions and that is why I said I will start slowly and than start betting more after I see teams play.

I still have odds @1.4 in my local bookie but they have better odds than most online places. Problem is they also come with various taxes so you loose a lot from your winnings. I am usually betting only in bitcoin on Sportsbet but I burned my bank there and don't have access to wallet before weekend so I had to turn to fiat bookies 

[Sithara007]

No surprises during the first match. It was a close one, but France won in the end with a narrow margin of 26-24. For today, there are 4 matches and most of the matches involve weaker teams. Out of 8 teams in action today, I don't think that any of them are ranked within the top-20. Three Asian teams will be having their first matches - Iran (vs Chile), South Korea (vs Hungary) and Saudi Arabia (vs Slovenia). I have checked odds from some of the sportsbooks, and Iran is at -125. South Korea is at +750 for the match against Hungary and Saudi Arabia is having odds of +3300 against Slovenia.

For the last match, Uruguay is placed at +2500 compared to -5,000 for Cape Verde. 

[slackovic]

No surprises during the first match. It was a close one, but France won in the end with a narrow margin of 26-24. For today, there are 4 matches and most of the matches involve weaker teams. Out of 8 teams in action today, I don't think that any of them are ranked within the top-20. Three Asian teams will be having their first matches - Iran (vs Chile), South Korea (vs Hungary) and Saudi Arabia (vs Slovenia). I have checked odds from some of the sportsbooks, and Iran is at -125. South Korea is at +750 for the match against Hungary and Saudi Arabia is having odds of +3300 against Slovenia.

For the last match, Uruguay is placed at +2500 compared to -5,000 for Cape Verde. 

I just checked the odds and I was pretty surprised seeing that Cape Verde is a strong favorite against Uruguay. I'm aware that Uruguay is not that known in the handball world, but I never heard of country called Cape Verde. I don't think that we will see any surprises today because all games include a big favorite against a much weaker team. I don't think I will place any bets today.

[Trofo]

No surprises during the first match. It was a close one, but France won in the end with a narrow margin of 26-24. For today, there are 4 matches and most of the matches involve weaker teams. Out of 8 teams in action today, I don't think that any of them are ranked within the top-20. Three Asian teams will be having their first matches - Iran (vs Chile), South Korea (vs Hungary) and Saudi Arabia (vs Slovenia). I have checked odds from some of the sportsbooks, and Iran is at -125. South Korea is at +750 for the match against Hungary and Saudi Arabia is having odds of +3300 against Slovenia.

For the last match, Uruguay is placed at +2500 compared to -5,000 for Cape Verde.  

I just checked the odds and I was pretty surprised seeing that Cape Verde is a strong favorite against Uruguay. I'm aware that Uruguay is not that known in the handball world, but I never heard of country called Cape Verde. I don't think that we will see any surprises today because all games include a big favorite against a much weaker team. I don't think I will place any bets today.

Cape verde is a better team but I don't think they can cover handicap when they are that much of a favorite. I just placed a bet on Uruguay +10.5 @1.85. Never seen these two play but looking at some stats I think this should be a good bet.

My other bet for today is over 55.5 in Slovenia game @1.8. Slovenia was always playing very fast handball and I hope they have still kept that trait. If they did, Slovenia will probably score over 40 goals by themselves. As I said still keeping it small stake until I see teams playing.

France was actually quite poor yesterday and they don't look to scary. Only guy that would have his place in the France squad of old is Dika Mem, going forward I am taking counter handicaps against France and Dika Mem over points if the margin is not set too high.

[slackovic]

Cape verde is a better team but I don't think they can cover handicap when they are that much of a favorite. I just placed a bet on Uruguay +10.5 @1.85. Never seen these two play but looking at some stats I think this should be a good bet.

Seeing how Uruguay played their last tournament (South and Central American Championship), I wouldn't be surprised to see you winning this bet. In the last year Cape Verde have never beaten another team by more than 10 goals. But Uruguay generally loses their games with a large goal difference so it remains to be seen how this one will end.

My other bet for today is over 55.5 in Slovenia game @1.8. Slovenia was always playing very fast handball and I hope they have still kept that trait. If they did, Slovenia will probably score over 40 goals by themselves. As I said still keeping it small stake until I see teams playing.

I know that they are playing against a much weaker team but I'm not that certain about them scoring more than 40 goals. It's the first game of the tournament and they may ease up once they get a solid goal difference. In handball goal difference is not that important like in football so I don't expect them to go with full strength in this game.

[Trofo]

My other bet for today is over 55.5 in Slovenia game @1.8. Slovenia was always playing very fast handball and I hope they have still kept that trait. If they did, Slovenia will probably score over 40 goals by themselves. As I said still keeping it small stake until I see teams playing.

I know that they are playing against a much weaker team but I'm not that certain about them scoring more than 40 goals. It's the first game of the tournament and they may ease up once they get a solid goal difference. In handball goal difference is not that important like in football so I don't expect them to go with full strength in this game.

And that is why I played over in total goals and not over Slovenia goals. You can't take it easy in handball, if you take the foot off the gas opponent will score goals. If Slovenia has big advantage they will just spread the minutes more evenly.

Why do you say goal difference is not important in Handball? It is as important as in football if not more. Don't you remeber when we needed that over 11 goals win against Poland to reach semi finals and we got it?

[slackovic]

And that is why I played over in total goals and not over Slovenia goals. You can't take it easy in handball, if you take the foot off the gas opponent will score goals. If Slovenia has big advantage they will just spread the minutes more evenly.

Why do you say goal difference is not important in Handball? It is as important as in football if not more. Don't you remeber when we needed that over 11 goals win against Poland to reach semi finals and we got it?

Hm... How can I explain what I meant... In football there are only few goals in the entire game and a winning team can have goal difference by 1, 2, 3 or (rarely) more goals. At the same time in handball winnings with 10+ goal difference are not that rare. That's why I said that a goal difference is more important in football than in handball. I'm not saying that it's not important, just that it's more important in football.

[Trofo]

And that is why I played over in total goals and not over Slovenia goals. You can't take it easy in handball, if you take the foot off the gas opponent will score goals. If Slovenia has big advantage they will just spread the minutes more evenly.

Why do you say goal difference is not important in Handball? It is as important as in football if not more. Don't you remeber when we needed that over 11 goals win against Poland to reach semi finals and we got it?

Hm... How can I explain what I meant... In football there are only few goals in the entire game and a winning team can have goal difference by 1, 2, 3 or (rarely) more goals. At the same time in handball winnings with 10+ goal difference are not that rare. That's why I said that a goal difference is more important in football than in handball. I'm not saying that it's not important, just that it's more important in football.

I thought it might have been that argument but I don't agree with it. You only need goal difference when 2 top teams play a draw between themselves. Meaning they are probably quite equal in strength. What difference does it make if they are winning their game against weakest team in the group with 2-4 goals (football) or 12-14 goals (handball)?

I just realized we have what could be a great game today to watch between Island and Portugal, should be lots of goals in it. Unfortunately bookies realized that as well and put the margin at 59.5 which is quite high. Goal per minute is never easy to get in close games. This one will tell us lot for the upcoming matches so I am watching it for sure.

[cygan]

after yesterday's very thrilling and intense opening game which france won 26-24 vs. poland, today we continue with a total of 7 games (from groups a, b, c and d)
spain (one of the favorites) will start the tournament today vs. montenegro
here again yesterday's game and today's encounters graphically represented

[Sithara007]

Cape Verde won with a large margin yesterday, as they defeated Uruguay by 33-25. There were not many upsets. Iran managed to defeat Chile, although by the narrowest of the margins (25-24). Hungary managed to defeat South Korea by 35-27 and Slovenia managed to defeat Saudi Arabia by a large margin of 33-19. So those who made bets on the stronger teams won yesterday. Today's odds are as follows:

Germany vs Qatar: GER -500, Qatar +550
Argentina vs Netherlands: ARG +210, NED -167
Morocco vs USA: MOR -357, USA +450
Bahrain vs Tunisia: BAH +260, TUN -192

Tomorrow's matches:

Croatia vs Egypt: CRO +114, EGY +120
Serbia vs Algeria: SRB -1429, ALG +1500
Denmark vs Belgium: DAN -5000, BLG +5400
Norway vs North Macedonia: NOR -1429, MAC +1500

[slackovic]

Cape Verde won with a large margin yesterday, as they defeated Uruguay by 33-25. There were not many upsets. Iran managed to defeat Chile, although by the narrowest of the margins (25-24). Hungary managed to defeat South Korea by 35-27 and Slovenia managed to defeat Saudi Arabia by a large margin of 33-19. So those who made bets on the stronger teams won yesterday. Today's odds are as follows:

Germany vs Qatar: GER -500, Qatar +550
Argentina vs Netherlands: ARG +210, NED -167
Morocco vs USA: MOR -357, USA +450
Bahrain vs Tunisia: BAH +260, TUN -192

Tomorrow's matches:

Croatia vs Egypt: CRO +114, EGY +120
Serbia vs Algeria: SRB -1429, ALG +1500
Denmark vs Belgium: DAN -5000, BLG +5400
Norway vs North Macedonia: NOR -1429, MAC +1500

Actually considering such low odds for Cape Verde vs. Uruguay game, I expected even bigger goal difference. Like I said, I never heard of Cape Verde but looking at the previous results I wouldn't expect Uruguay to score 25 goals.

Trofo, I see that your bet for Saudi Arabia vs Slovenia game to end with 50+ goals was a success. Great call

As for today's games I'd say that favorites are pretty clear in all games except for the game Croatia vs Egypt. I can't be objective in this game so I will probably go with Croatia winning but it's a tough call. Croatia often plays poor at the start of the tournament and then improve their form as the tournament advances.

[Trofo]

Trofo, I see that your bet for Saudi Arabia vs Slovenia game to end with 50+ goals was a success. Great call

As for today's games I'd say that favorites are pretty clear in all games except for the game Croatia vs Egypt. I can't be objective in this game so I will probably go with Croatia winning but it's a tough call. Croatia often plays poor at the start of the tournament and then improve their form as the tournament advances.

That was actually the only game I missed yesterday, margin was 55.5 not 50 unfortunately. But I more than made up for it with late ticket, you know the language so you will understand and others can probably get the gist as well. Football games market is both to score, rest should be obvious.


The clock is running in this competition even when we have penalty. So under is the market to go for. That is my main tip for today Croatia - Egypt under 56.5. Egypt is a big under team and we like to wait for last seconds of the attack as well. Should be free money. My first bigger stake in this competition.

[slackovic]

That was actually the only game I missed yesterday, margin was 55.5 not 50 unfortunately.

Right, I thought it was over 50 goals. Too bad but great job on this late ticket. Really a good win

But I more than made up for it with late ticket, you know the language so you will understand and others can probably get the gist as well. Football games market is both to score, rest should be obvious.


The clock is running in this competition even when we have penalty. So under is the market to go for. That is my main tip for today Croatia - Egypt under 56.5. Egypt is a big under team and we like to wait for last seconds of the attack as well. Should be free money. My first bigger stake in this competition.

I don't know... Croatia didn't play very good defense but they played excellent offense in friendly games before this tournament. It could be that the score will be over 56.5. I wish you luck but I'll skip this one.

[Trofo]

I don't know... Croatia didn't play very good defense but they played excellent offense in friendly games before this tournament. It could be that the score will be over 56.5. I wish you luck but I'll skip this one.

Yeah but that were friendlies and we were playing against week teams or very attacking team in case of Macedonia. You don't really play defense in friendly games since you are careful to avoid injuries. Handball is a sport full of contacts and most good teams play proper defense only when it matters. We played 3 times against Egypt on World Cup so far and games ended with 40, 44 and 52 goals. That game with 52 goals was from 2003 so not really relevant. I am quite sure 56.5 should be a safe margin today. But as I said these are early rounds and smaller bets just to test the water I start with serious bets after I see the teams actually play.

[cygan]

and here are the results from yesterday... unfortunately without any big surprises
spain, sweden, iceland, iran, slovenia, cape verde and hungary leave the halls as winners after the second matchday



and with today's third day another 16 nations including defending title holders denmark start into the tournament

[LTU_btc]

I watched a bit of Germany - Qatar game and I was surprised that Qatar have such good level team. But then I looked that Qatar is strongest team in Asia in recent years, so maybe such performance isn't surprising. Any way, they lost game, Germany had control of game, most part of game having few goals lead.
Morocco lost to USA and it's first big surprise so far. Don't follow handball that much to put bets on unders/overs, so, I simply go with Croatia ML.

[Trofo]

I watched a bit of Germany - Qatar game and I was surprised that Qatar have such good level team. But then I looked that Qatar is strongest team in Asia in recent years, so maybe such performance isn't surprising. Any way, they lost game, Germany had control of game, most part of game having few goals lead.
Morocco lost to USA and it's first big surprise so far. Don't follow handball that much to put bets on unders/overs, so, I simply go with Croatia ML.

I watched whole Croatia game and before everyone says how poor we were I am gonna say Egypt was great. I wouldn't be surprised at all if we see this Egypt side playing in semi finals.

We didn't have any chance with such poor defense and keepers that can't defend a single ball. Next 2 games will be easy for both but then we will have to win against someone good, probably Denmark.

[Sithara007]

Well.. I never expected Croatia to lose by such a big margin. Anyway, good luck next time. And despite overwhelming odds, Morocco lost to USA by a tiny margin of 27-28. Yesterday's matches turned out to be quite interesting actually.

Let's discuss today's matches. Here are the odds that I got from various sources:

Iceland vs Hungary: ICE +115
Poland vs Slovenia: POL -125, SLV +160
Montenegro vs Iran: MNT -1111, IRN +900
Portugal vs South Korea: POR -1250, KOR +1200
France vs Saudi Arabia: FRA -850, KSA +850
Brazil vs Uruguay: BRA -1650, URU +1650
Spain vs Chile: ESP -1550, CHL +1550
Sweden vs Cape Verde: SVG -1350, CPV +1350
 
The first two matches are going to be close, apart from that others are going to be one-sided.

[casperBGD]

I watched a bit of Germany - Qatar game and I was surprised that Qatar have such good level team.

-snip

Qatar has some players from outside and that makes difference (expected that from them on WC, but it obviously harder to get that in football)

anyway, Serbia is in that group as well, beating Algeria in first round, but will be harder against Germany and Qatar, but I do expect us to win some there

didn't bet so far on competition, will put some goals on today

[Trofo]

didn't bet so far on competition, will put some goals on today

Margins are spot on today, I don't see any obvious mistakes like in last two days. I took under in Poland-Slovenia match but the margin is set a bit too low for me to be really comfortable with it. I would have taken Jedraszczyk over 0.5 or over 1.5 if any bookie I know offered him. He is not starting matches for Poland but he is young player, very quick on his feet and I am quite sure he will go over that margin and score a couple of goals.

That and Island - Hungary are the only matches worth watching today. We could have a surprise here maybe, everybody is talking how good Hungary played lately but I did not watch them so taking just +4.5 handicap.

[slackovic]

I watched whole Croatia game and before everyone says how poor we were I am gonna say Egypt was great. I wouldn't be surprised at all if we see this Egypt side playing in semi finals.

We didn't have any chance with such poor defense and keepers that can't defend a single ball. Next 2 games will be easy for both but then we will have to win against someone good, probably Denmark.

I still think that Croatia could have played better yesterday. I know that Egypt is a very good team but to me it looked like anyone could have beaten us yesterday. Now I regret not putting some money on Egypt because I knew that Croatia always start tournaments lousy and with every game they improve their performance. Even if Egypt is a great team, Croatia still allowed too many easy shots for Egypt players. And you can't expect that a keeper saves a shot when a player comes in full sprint without defense getting in his way.

Well.. I never expected Croatia to lose by such a big margin. Anyway, good luck next time. And despite overwhelming odds, Morocco lost to USA by a tiny margin of 27-28. Yesterday's matches turned out to be quite interesting actually.

Let's discuss today's matches. Here are the odds that I got from various sources:

Iceland vs Hungary: ICE +115
Poland vs Slovenia: POL -125, SLV +160
Montenegro vs Iran: MNT -1111, IRN +900
Portugal vs South Korea: POR -1250, KOR +1200
France vs Saudi Arabia: FRA -850, KSA +850
Brazil vs Uruguay: BRA -1650, URU +1650
Spain vs Chile: ESP -1550, CHL +1550
Sweden vs Cape Verde: SVG -1350, CPV +1350
 
The first two matches are going to be close, apart from that others are going to be one-sided.

I agree. There's not much chance of a surprise in any game except for the first two that you mentioned. I'm not that into betting so I have never seen this type of odds but I get the idea.

[Daniel91]

I don't know... Croatia didn't play very good defense but they played excellent offense in friendly games before this tournament. It could be that the score will be over 56.5. I wish you luck but I'll skip this one.

Yeah but that were friendlies and we were playing against week teams or very attacking team in case of Macedonia. You don't really play defense in friendly games since you are careful to avoid injuries. Handball is a sport full of contacts and most good teams play proper defense only when it matters. We played 3 times against Egypt on World Cup so far and games ended with 40, 44 and 52 goals. That game with 52 goals was from 2003 so not really relevant. I am quite sure 56.5 should be a safe margin today. But as I said these are early rounds and smaller bets just to test the water I start with serious bets after I see the teams actually play.

It is true that Croatia usually has problems at the beginning of every tournament, but the fact is that Croatia has not been a handball power or a favorite in any tournament for a long time.
Does anyone even remember the last time the Croatian handball team won a medal in a competition?
The Croatian handball league is very weak and uncompetitive, and it seems that Croatia will not participate in the second consecutive Olympic games, which would be a disaster for Croatian handball.
In order to qualify for the Olympic Games, they must reach the quarter-finals of this world championship, and after losing to Egypt, they will most likely have to beat Denmark in the second stage of this competition, which will be an almost impossible mission.
This defeat psychologically shook the Croatian players a lot and I would even now take a risk and bet on the USA winning against Croatia.

[slackovic]

It is true that Croatia usually has problems at the beginning of every tournament, but the fact is that Croatia has not been a handball power or a favorite in any tournament for a long time.
Does anyone even remember the last time the Croatian handball team won a medal in a competition?
The Croatian handball league is very weak and uncompetitive, and it seems that Croatia will not participate in the second consecutive Olympic games, which would be a disaster for Croatian handball.
In order to qualify for the Olympic Games, they must reach the quarter-finals of this world championship, and after losing to Egypt, they will most likely have to beat Denmark in the second stage of this competition, which will be an almost impossible mission.
This defeat psychologically shook the Croatian players a lot and I would even now take a risk and bet on the USA winning against Croatia.

To me it looks like Croatian handball is in a steady downtrend. Their peak began twenty years ago when Croatia won the gold medal in Portugal and lasted for the next 10 years. After that their form is in a constant downtrend. You say that Croatian handball league is weak and uncompetitive. It's true, but so is Croatian football league and yet Croatia won two medals in the last two World Cups. Most Croatian handball players are playing in foreign leagues just like in football.

[Trofo]

This defeat psychologically shook the Croatian players a lot and I would even now take a risk and bet on the USA winning against Croatia.

Go for it if you believe that USA has the quality to take the game. Odds are @17 now that means that those odds pose immense value for you. But don't be fatalistic we can win against USA even with C team and playing without keepers. We will win next two games easy, we will be even more concentrated after this loss against Egypt. But we don't have what it takes to fight it out with top teams. And this Egypt team is good, you will see in the next games. They even have results from last 2 competitions and if creating odds wasn't psychological game, Egypt would have been made favorite yesterday with odds around 1.5. I must say I did not want to bat against my Croatia so I missed on that freebie but I took money on under goals bet at least.

Our handball is in decline for years and it will end same as basketball. Yes we have bad league but that did not stop our two strongest clubs to have good seasons in europe before, now that has become impossible as well. It is all in decline and we will need to wait quite a long time before we see our handballers fight for the medals again but we are still miles ahead of countries where handball isn't an important sport.

[cygan]

as you have come to expect from me, this time i post the results from yesterday. especially the last 4 games were very high scoring



tonight already the second matchday starts and both host countries sweden and poland play their second match today

[Sithara007]

There was a major upset yesterday, as Slovenia managed to defeat Poland. Poland were the favorites as per the betting odds. And the Montenegro vs Iran match turned out to be closer than expected, with Montenegro sneaking in with 34-31. Odds for today's matches are as follows:

Egypt vs Morocco: EGY -5000, MAR +6600
Norway vs Argentina: NOR -3333, ARG +2000
Denmark vs Bahrain: DAN -5000, BHR +3900
Croatia vs USA: CRO -5000, USA +2500
Germany vs Serbia: GER -139, SRB +190
North Macedonia vs Netherlands: MAC +500, NED -400
Belgium vs Tunisia: BLG +425, TUN -345
Qatar vs Algeria: QAT -455, ALG +600

[cygan]

slovenia had a brilliant evening against poland yesterday and defeated the hosts 32:23 with an excellent defensive performance. hungary qualified with a brilliant comeback against iceland, who came from behind in the first 50 minutes to win unexpectedly. in the other match of the day, portugal beat korea republic to secure their place in the main round.
also in the main round are: spain, france, slovenia, sweden and brazil



and here are the matches that are currently running or will be played tonight

[slackovic]

I see that Croatia manages to beat USA with a really bit goal difference. Who would have expected this after they lost to Egypt in that way. But that just proves my point that Croatia usually start tournaments lousy and then gets better as tournament progresses. OK, USA is no match to Egypt when it comes to handball, but it's a really nice victory to boost morale.

Other results from yesterday's games are as I expected.

[cygan]

on the fifth day of the tournament there was the first victory of debutant Belgium (31-29 vs tunisia)



today several teams have their last chance to reach the next round. the full schedule of matches for today

[Sithara007]

Quite a few exciting matches yesterday, with Iceland getting a win against South Korea and Poland managing to outclass Saudi Arabia. Groups A, B, C and D have now completed all the matches. The teams that are relegated to Presidents Cup so far are Chile, Saudi Arabia, Uruguay and South Korea.

Today's odds are as follows:

Algeria vs Germany: GER -5000, ALG +2500
Qatar vs Serbia: SRB -286, QAT +350
Netherlands vs Norway: NOR -357, NED +450
North Macedonia vs Argentina: MAC +180, ARG -139
Belgium vs Bahrain: BLG -110, BHR +145
Croatia vs Morocco: CRO -5000, MAR +3300
Tunisia vs Denmark: DAN -5000, TUN +4400
Egypt vs USA: EGY -5000, USA +4000

[slackovic]

on the fifth day of the tournament there was the first victory of debutant Belgium (31-29 vs tunisia)

/snip

Wait, Belgium is a debutante in the World Handball Championship? I really did not know that and it's a surprise that they managed to beat Tunisia. Tunisia is a nation that plays good handball so I was surprised to see your post.

I watched a little of the Portugal vs Hungary game yesterday. What shocked me is that Hungary managed to score only two goals in the first 20 minutes of the game. I didn't have the time to watch the rest of the game but I see that they managed to save their honor in the end.

This group phase of the tournament is pretty boring if I may say. In majority of the games the difference in quality of the opponents is just too big to bring some excitement. Maybe the game between Croatia and Egypt was somewhat unexpected. I'm looking forward to the next phase where there should be more interesting games.

[Trofo]

This group phase of the tournament is pretty boring if I may say. In majority of the games the difference in quality of the opponents is just too big to bring some excitement. Maybe the game between Croatia and Egypt was somewhat unexpected. I'm looking forward to the next phase where there should be more interesting games.

Constitution of groups is such that every group should have 2 good teams so that means at least one game when outcome is not 100% certain. That group with Island, Hungary and Portugal is actually the most even one in the tournament and before it started any of these 3 could have been aiming for first spot.

My only bet today is Quatar - Serbia under 58.5. This tournament is actually quite full of goals and I expect that to drop a lot in later stages when stakes are higher.

[cygan]

yesterday in group a spain had no problems with iran, while montenegro ensured it would advance to the next round with two points with a last-second win over chile.
in Group b france dominated slovenia (35-31), while co-hosts poland advanced to the main round with a 27-24 win after a hard-fought match against saudi arabia.
the 2nd co-hosts sweden celebrated their third win in a row against Uruguay (47-12), while brazil starts the main round with two points after a narrow 30-28 win against cape verde.
 



and as usual below the today's games

[casperBGD]

Serbia is playing Qatar, after pretty solid match against Germany
it is just a start, but seems that it could be a tough one for us

Egypt is playing really above expectations, brought down all rivals, including Croatia with 10+ goals, not sure how far they can go, but could be a good one for them

[Sithara007]

Now the group phase of the tournament is over and we will be moving to the second phase. The last placed (4th) team from each of the groups will be moving (relegated) to Presidents Cup. Other teams will move to the main round, which is again divided to 4 groups.

Odds for today's matches are as follows:
   
Portugal vs Brazil: POR -500, BRA +550
France vs Montenegro: FRA -1667, MNT +1300
Iran vs Slovenia: IRN +2500, SLV -5000
Uruguay vs South Korea: URU +1800, KOR -3333
Sweden vs Hungary: SVG -556, HUN +600
Cape Verde vs Iceland: CBV +1700, ISL -2500
Chile vs Saudi Arabia: CHL -238, KSA +325
Spain vs Poland: ESP -500, POL +650

[slackovic]

Serbia is playing Qatar, after pretty solid match against Germany
it is just a start, but seems that it could be a tough one for us

Egypt is playing really above expectations, brought down all rivals, including Croatia with 10+ goals, not sure how far they can go, but could be a good one for them

I see that Serbia is placed in a group with Norway and Netherlands. Too bad that they couldn't at least get a draw from the game against Germany as that would give them 1 extra point in the next phase. Now they will probably have to beat Norway and Netherlands in order to qualify for the quarter final.

Egypt was always a nation that played great handball so I'm not that surprised that they are winning all the games. It was a surprise that they managed to beat Croatia, especially with that big goal difference. Because of that Croatia will have to win tomorrow's game against Denmark which will be very difficult. In handball Denmark is like Brazil in football. Of course they can be beaten but the other team must play a perfect defense and offense. I guess we will see tomorrow how it will go, but I'm not very optimistic.

[cygan]

yesterday, the last eight matches of the preliminary round took place, in which the last main round places were awarded.
the most important match was the one between argentina and north macedonia, the winner of which could secure a place in the main round. the south americans showed an impeccable performance and advanced to the next round with a 35-26 victory.
germany and serbia earned important victories in group e and move into the main round with 4 and 2 points, respectively, while qatar goes into the next stage with 0 points.
defending champions denmark also start the main round with 4 points after beating eliminated tunisia, while belgium and bahrain move into the main round after the ssians won 30-28 in the match between the two teams.
Trofo's croatia survived an early setback against morocco to advance to the next round, as did the usa, who advanced despite losing to egypt

[casperBGD]

~snip
I see that Serbia is placed in a group with Norway and Netherlands. Too bad that they couldn't at least get a draw from the game against Germany as that would give them 1 extra point in the next phase. Now they will probably have to beat Norway and Netherlands in order to qualify for the quarter final.

Egypt was always a nation that played great handball so I'm not that surprised that they are winning all the games. It was a surprise that they managed to beat Croatia, especially with that big goal difference. Because of that Croatia will have to win tomorrow's game against Denmark which will be very difficult. In handball Denmark is like Brazil in football. Of course they can be beaten but the other team must play a perfect defense and offense. I guess we will see tomorrow how it will go, but I'm not very optimistic.

yeah, will be difficult for both Serbia and Croatia to pass into next stage

winning over Norway will be a difficult task, far from impossible, but certainly not an easy one, Netherlands is a different story, that should be won
but overall, Norway and Germany are prone to go into next round, both with a one-goal win over rivals in first part

on the other hand, for Croatia is also difficult that Denmark is a first match in new group, in case of not winning it, it is almost over (and odds suggest that with @1.1 on Denmark)

[cygan]

today the main round starts and 12 teams play their first matches in the second phase of the tournament
both hosts (poland as well as sweden) play today for more points

[Trofo]

winning over Norway will be a difficult task, far from impossible, but certainly not an easy one, Netherlands is a different story, that should be won
but overall, Norway and Germany are prone to go into next round, both with a one-goal win over rivals in first part

Did not watch Serbia at all in this competition but Netherlands is serious team. You can't accidentally lead by 6 goals against Norway and I am thinking there could be problems for Serbia here.

Still a lot of one sided matches, 32 teams in world cup is simply way to much for sport like Handball where we have 16 good teams in the world. It just looks ridiculous watching all the favorites win with 10+ goals in second stage of the tournament. Nobody is even playing defense yet, I have a feeling we will watch totally different handball once elimination stage kicks in. Hopefully bookies will not be ready and will still give us margins over 60 goals.

[casperBGD]

~snip
You can't accidentally lead by 6 goals against Norway and I am thinking there could be problems for Serbia here.

you can't lead by chance, but if you lose it in the end, that tells a lot about your mental strength (IMO, Norway played just enough)?

but due to schedule, it boils down to Norway first and in case Serbia lose that one, one can say that match against Netherlands will not have much to play for (there is a possibility Germany lose against Netherlands and math chances, but I would not call it that realistic)

and Qatar could do us a favor tomorrow and take point from Netherlands, but there is also not realistic

[Sithara007]

Odds for today's matches are as follows:

USA vs Bahrain: BHR -1111, USA +1300
Qatar vs Netherlands: NED -500, QAT +650
Germany vs Argentina: GER -1667, ARG +1600
Morocco vs Tunisia: TUN -500, MAR +700
Norway vs Serbia: NOR -200, SRB +275
Algeria vs North Macedonia: MAC -139, ALG +180
Egypt vs Belgium: EGY -3333, BLG +2000
Denmark vs Croatia: DAN -1250, CRO +1200

[Trofo]

Odds for today's matches are as follows:

What part of the world shows odds in a way you are presenting? Have no idea what they mean 

Anyway Denmark is an enormous favourite against Croatia today and I think bookies understimated Croatia here. Yes we are bad, yes we will probably lose, but to give odds at 1.05 on Denmark is crazy. My bet for today is Croatia +8.5 @1.7. This is the game for both us and Denmark and I don't see it as free scoring.

[slackovic]

Odds for today's matches are as follows:

What part of the world shows odds in a way you are presenting? Have no idea what they mean 

Anyway Denmark is an enormous favourite against Croatia today and I think bookies understimated Croatia here. Yes we are bad, yes we will probably lose, but to give odds at 1.05 on Denmark is crazy. My bet for today is Croatia +8.5 @1.7. This is the game for both us and Denmark and I don't see it as free scoring.

I wanted to ask the same question but I thought I would sound stupid as I'm not that into betting. I thought it is just some other format to display odds that is known in the betting, but I guess it's not that known if Trofo can't recognize it

The game against Denmark today is to qualify for the quarter final. If Croatia somehow manages to win it, they won't automatically qualify but they will come very close.

[Sithara007]

Odds for today's matches are as follows:

What part of the world shows odds in a way you are presenting? Have no idea what they mean 

Anyway Denmark is an enormous favourite against Croatia today and I think bookies understimated Croatia here. Yes we are bad, yes we will probably lose, but to give odds at 1.05 on Denmark is crazy. My bet for today is Croatia +8.5 @1.7. This is the game for both us and Denmark and I don't see it as free scoring.

Hi sorry.. this is the format that I use normally and the one I get from the sportsbook that I use. Let me explain a little bit. I am taking the last one, where it is given as DAN -1250, CRO +1200. This means that if you bet 1250 for DAN and if DAN wins, you will get 1350 (gain of +100). So it is similar to odds of 1.08 in your format. On the other hand, if you bet 100 for Croatia, then you will end up with 1300 (gain of +1200). So in your format, this is equivalent to odds of 12.00. Anyway, from the next time onwards, I will try to post the odds in both the formats. 

[Trofo]

Odds for today's matches are as follows:

What part of the world shows odds in a way you are presenting? Have no idea what they mean 

Anyway Denmark is an enormous favourite against Croatia today and I think bookies understimated Croatia here. Yes we are bad, yes we will probably lose, but to give odds at 1.05 on Denmark is crazy. My bet for today is Croatia +8.5 @1.7. This is the game for both us and Denmark and I don't see it as free scoring.

Hi sorry.. this is the format that I use normally and the one I get from the sportsbook that I use. Let me explain a little bit. I am taking the last one, where it is given as DAN -1250, CRO +1200. This means that if you bet 1250 for DAN and if DAN wins, you will get 1350 (gain of +100). So it is similar to odds of 1.08 in your format. On the other hand, if you bet 100 for Croatia, then you will end up with 1300 (gain of +1200). So in your format, this is equivalent to odds of 12.00. Anyway, from the next time onwards, I will try to post the odds in both the formats. 

No need to apologise, I was genuinely curious to know what part of the world shows odds like that since I never seen it. I am betting for more than 20 years and I always use decimal odds. I have however seen fractional often. Your type is money line and I never come across them. I know they originted in America but all the American sites I use don't use those odds anymore or maybe they know I am visiting feom Europe and change them automatically.

[cygan]

co-hosts poland conceded a 23-27 defeat vs. spain and have thus been eliminated from the race for a place among the competition's top eight teams. in group 1, france also recorded a clear victory over montenegro to increase its chances of advancing.
in group 2, co-hosts sweden delivered another excellent game with a 37-28 win over hungary and are moving ever closer to the quarter-finals. portugal suffered a bitter setback and could not get beyond a 28-28 draw against brazil.



today's games👇

[Sithara007]

Odds for today's matches:

Cape Verde vs Portugal: 11.00 vs 1.12
Iran vs France: 67.00 vs 1.02
Chile vs Uruguay: 1.02 vs 31.00
Slovenia vs Spain: 3.50 vs 1.52
Montenegro vs Poland: 4.00 vs 1.42
Iceland vs Sweden: 3.60 vs 1.50
Saudi Arabia vs South Korea: 4.00 vs 1.44
Brazil vs Hungary: 4.20 vs 1.40

[slackovic]

@Shitara007 thanks for changing the way you provide odds. It's much clearer now

Yesterday game between Croatia and Denmark was practically "to be or not to be" game for Croatia. I watched the game and Croatia played really good, especially in the first half. The game ended up with a draw which doesn't really help Croatia that much. We really needed a win and too bad that Croatia's shot in the last second of the game went over the goal.

[casperBGD]

-snip

We really needed a win and too bad that Croatia's shot in the last second of the game went over the goal.

yeah, basically a draw between Denmark and Egypt and that is it, but there are still chances

Serbia lost to Norway, and it is practically over now for next round

as expected, games are getting tense, but still too much low level teams in competition, and one match is a decider, all the others are just to prolong the tournament

[Trofo]

@Shitara007 thanks for changing the way you provide odds. It's much clearer now

Yesterday game between Croatia and Denmark was practically "to be or not to be" game for Croatia. I watched the game and Croatia played really good, especially in the first half. The game ended up with a draw which doesn't really help Croatia that much. We really needed a win and too bad that Croatia's shot in the last second of the game went over the goal.

I am not usually commenting on referees but I feel like they really gave a helping hand to Denmark yesterday.  All 50-50 decisins went the way of Denmark as well as couple of big ones when one ref showed a ball for Croatia and another showed 7m plus 2min. That is a real big difference in such close game and it happened twice in the game and both time went on Denmark side.

Our guys really played good yesterday, must say I was a bit surprised and my bet passed with 8 goals to spare so that is something. These are the games when we can make most money. Hopefully bookies will favour the Denmark as much against Egypt.

[slackovic]

I am not usually commenting on referees but I feel like they really gave a helping hand to Denmark yesterday.  All 50-50 decisins went the way of Denmark as well as couple of big ones when one ref showed a ball for Croatia and another showed 7m plus 2min. That is a real big difference in such close game and it happened twice in the game and both time went on Denmark side.

Our guys really played good yesterday, must say I was a bit surprised and my bet passed with 8 goals to spare so that is something. These are the games when we can make most money. Hopefully bookies will favour the Denmark as much against Egypt.

I didn't want to comment on the referees because I don't want someone who didn't watch the game to think I'm searching for excuses for the draw. But I agree with you. Except for those two situations you mentioned where one referee said the ball was for Croatia and the other ruled a suspension and a penalty, I remember a few more situations where the decisions were just wrong. I understand that referees are also just humans and prone to making a mistake, but yesterday there were a lot of mistakes and after almost every mistake Croatia ended up with a suspension or a penalty against.

But OK... Croatia must go on, beat the last two games with as big a goal difference as they can and hope that other games end favorably for them.

[cygan]

france and spain (group one) have advanced to the quarterfinals of the world cup after their victories yesterday against iran (41-29) and slovenia (31-26)
sweden also made it to the knockout stage after their fifth straight win over iceland (35-30). the group two is much more complicated, however, with portugal, iceland and hungary fighting for second place in the group, which automatically qualifies for the quarterfinals. portugal won against cape verde (35-23), while hungary earned a hard-fought victory over brazil (28-25)



today we continue in the groups 3 and 4.
the highlight will be the game between germany and the netherlands, with the former side being able to qualify, while norway are in the same position when they face qatar.
the complete schedule:

[Daniel91]

I am not usually commenting on referees but I feel like they really gave a helping hand to Denmark yesterday.  All 50-50 decisins went the way of Denmark as well as couple of big ones when one ref showed a ball for Croatia and another showed 7m plus 2min. That is a real big difference in such close game and it happened twice in the game and both time went on Denmark side.

Our guys really played good yesterday, must say I was a bit surprised and my bet passed with 8 goals to spare so that is something. These are the games when we can make most money. Hopefully bookies will favour the Denmark as much against Egypt.

I didn't want to comment on the referees because I don't want someone who didn't watch the game to think I'm searching for excuses for the draw. But I agree with you. Except for those two situations you mentioned where one referee said the ball was for Croatia and the other ruled a suspension and a penalty, I remember a few more situations where the decisions were just wrong. I understand that referees are also just humans and prone to making a mistake, but yesterday there were a lot of mistakes and after almost every mistake Croatia ended up with a suspension or a penalty against.

But OK... Croatia must go on, beat the last two games with as big a goal difference as they can and hope that other games end favorably for them.

Unfortunately, it is already a custom or a rule that the hosts of handball competitions and world champions always have a slightly privileged position with the referees.
In such uncertain matches as was the match between Denmark and Croatia, each referee's decision can decide the winner and that unfortunately happened.
I think it is very difficult to expect a miracle now, that Egypt will help Croatia or that other results will go our way.
We should try to win at least ninth place, which in some combinations ensures placement in the Olympic Games qualification, which is our ultimate goal now. Another absence from the Olympic Games would be disastrous for Croatian handball.
It's a pity that we didn't play like this against Egypt.

[cygan]

more decisions were made on saturday.
three teams - egypt, germany and norway advanced to the quarterfinals. egypt made it into the top eight teams in the world for the third time in a row.
in group three germany defeated the netherlands 33-26, while norway beat qatar 30-17. both teams now have 8 points and will meet on monday

[slackovic]

Unfortunately, it is already a custom or a rule that the hosts of handball competitions and world champions always have a slightly privileged position with the referees.
In such uncertain matches as was the match between Denmark and Croatia, each referee's decision can decide the winner and that unfortunately happened.
I think it is very difficult to expect a miracle now, that Egypt will help Croatia or that other results will go our way.
We should try to win at least ninth place, which in some combinations ensures placement in the Olympic Games qualification, which is our ultimate goal now. Another absence from the Olympic Games would be disastrous for Croatian handball.
It's a pity that we didn't play like this against Egypt.

Yeah, it really is. But I also don't like this system where a team loses one game and right at the start of the tournament loses almost any chance to advance to the quarter final. I don't think I have seen a system like that in any other sport. Today is probably the last game for Croatia and I really hope they can win it with enough goal difference to finish the World Cup in the ninth place which would take us to the qualification for the Olympic games.

[Sithara007]

The quarter-final lineup looks exciting:

Norway vs Spain: 2.08 vs 1.91
Danmark vs Hungary: 1.04 vs 8.80
Sweden vs Egypt: 1.20 vs 4.70
France vs Germany: 1.39 vs 3.20

Egypt went down against Danmark (and that too by a big margin) so they have lost the momentum. And so far Sweden looks like the best team in the tournament. BTW, the most lop-sided match is going to be Danmark vs Hungary. The Danes have it easy this time.

[Trofo]

The quarter-final lineup looks exciting:

Norway vs Spain: 2.08 vs 1.91
Danmark vs Hungary: 1.04 vs 8.80
Sweden vs Egypt: 1.20 vs 4.70
France vs Germany: 1.39 vs 3.20

Egypt went down against Danmark (and that too by a big margin) so they have lost the momentum. And so far Sweden looks like the best team in the tournament. BTW, the most lop-sided match is going to be Danmark vs Hungary. The Danes have it easy this time.

I have lost a bit of interest for competition since it looks quite organised in a way to get Denmark - Sweden final. Those are two great teams and I really like how Sweden plays but even refs are pulling for them. That goes more for Denmark so far since Sweden did not actually need help. But that is good to take away money from bookies so I am not really complaining.

[Sithara007]

Well.. as of now, a final on 29th between Danmark and Sweden looks like the most probable one. For Danmark, the most probable opponents in semi-finals would be Spain (tough to predict at this point), while Sweden (in case they win the quarter-finals against Egypt) will be taking on France. This time there weren't a lot of upsets. But who knows, there is always a chance of one occurring. And that handicap bet for Egypt actually looks good given the fact that Egypt lost by 5 against Danmark in the previous match.

[slackovic]

I have lost a bit of interest for competition since it looks quite organised in a way to get Denmark - Sweden final. Those are two great teams and I really like how Sweden plays but even refs are pulling for them. That goes more for Denmark so far since Sweden did not actually need help. But that is good to take away money from bookies so I am not really complaining.

I'm not sure if we Denmark - Sweden final is possible. If I'm not mistaken, this schedule says that they will meet in the semi final game. But I agree that it looks like they are getting a push from the referees.

[cygan]

on wednesday the time has come and the quarterfinals will be played. there will be two games each in sweden and poland
of the remaining 8 countries 7 are from europe and 1 from africa...

[Trofo]

I'm not sure if we Denmark - Sweden final is possible. If I'm not mistaken, this schedule says that they will meet in the semi final game. But I agree that it looks like they are getting a push from the referees.

You are right, I forgot they are playing in two countries. If it was the same country you usually group up same part of the draw at same time. This time they have done it opposite and I did not look at the draws, I just checked the matches on Sportsbet to see the odds I can get. Denmark is way too low but Sweden win actually has solid odds. I don't think Egypt can have the answer for that very fast handball Sweden plays.

[casperBGD]

~snip
But I also don't like this system where a team loses one game and right at the start of the tournament loses almost any chance to advance to the quarter final.

agree here, there is a tournament, playing tone of matches, and still one match at the beginning can send you home, with all matches still to play, but you actually know that it is over, because difference between teams is too high to expect anything different from favorites winning the match

lost interest during the competition because of that, basically nothing to play for several matches before the tournament actually ends up

[Sithara007]

I'm not sure if we Denmark - Sweden final is possible. If I'm not mistaken, this schedule says that they will meet in the semi final game. But I agree that it looks like they are getting a push from the referees.

AFAIK, there can be Danmark vs Sweden final. The first semi-final will be between winners of France vs Germany and Sweden vs Egypt. The second one is between winners of Norway vs Spain and Danmark vs Hungary. So in all possibility, the semifinals will be played between France vs Sweden, and Spain vs Danmark. If Sweden and Danmark win their next two matches, then they will meet at the finals. So Trofo is correct, when he said that the tournament schedule is designed in such a way, as to ensure a final between Danmark and Sweden.

[slackovic]

AFAIK, there can be Danmark vs Sweden final. The first semi-final will be between winners of France vs Germany and Sweden vs Egypt. The second one is between winners of Norway vs Spain and Danmark vs Hungary. So in all possibility, the semifinals will be played between France vs Sweden, and Spain vs Danmark. If Sweden and Danmark win their next two matches, then they will meet at the finals. So Trofo is correct, when he said that the tournament schedule is designed in such a way, as to ensure a final between Danmark and Sweden.

Hm... I just checked the official schedule and I think you both are right. Yesterday I checked the schedule on handball23.com website and it showed different game schedule. Now it seems like we will have Denmark vs Sweden in the final game.

[snipie]

Norway and Spain have a very close game today. Both teams are doing good and Norway was able to win until Spain scored a goal in the last minute of the second half thanks to a big mistake by Norwegians. They had the ball and instead of shooting it, they wasted it randomly.. Now the first additional period ended and the second one will start soon.

[Trofo]

Norway and Spain have a very close game today. Both teams are doing good and Norway was able to win until Spain scored a goal in the last minute of the second half thanks to a big mistake by Norwegians. They had the ball and instead of shooting it, they wasted it randomly.. Now the first additional period ended and the second one will start soon.

Very close game but Norway was closer to winning it and they will be gutted if they loose in the end. Spain was always int reach but trailing almost all the time.

Denmark on the other hand won easily as expected. I am also thinking Sweden will have quite easy time against Egypt but other game between France and Germany should be a good one. Will it be German speed or France experience in the end?

[snipie]

Norway and Spain have a very close game today. Both teams are doing good and Norway was able to win until Spain scored a goal in the last minute of the second half thanks to a big mistake by Norwegians. They had the ball and instead of shooting it, they wasted it randomly.. Now the first additional period ended and the second one will start soon.

Very close game but Norway was closer to winning it and they will be gutted if they loose in the end. Spain was always int reach but trailing almost all the time.

Denmark on the other hand won easily as expected. I am also thinking Sweden will have quite easy time against Egypt but other game between France and Germany should be a good one. Will it be German speed or France experience in the end?

Intense game and Spain won at the end. There was many mistakes from professional players here and Norway missed the win since the main time.. The last second mistake to let Spanish players fast score the most important goal cannot be forgivable and they will regret it for years here.
Congratulations to Spain this hard victory and to Denmark their easy win vs Hungary.
The two remaining games will start in 15 minutes.

[Sithara007]

No upsets so far in the quarter-final stage. Teams with better odds won all the 4 matches. As expected, we will have the Spain vs Danmark and France vs Sweden semifinals. And if there are no further upsets, then it will be Danmark vs Sweden final (not that sure about the second semi-final though, France will fancy their chances). This time, the matches were quite predictable and there were hardly any upsets (either at group stage or during the knockout phase). The odds for semi-finals are as follows:

Spain vs Danmark: 5.80 vs 1.13
France vs Sweden: 2.07 vs 1.90

[slackovic]

Denmark is really playing the best of all teams in this championship. They won all games except the one versus Croatia. It is really a shame that Croatia allowed themself a game like the one versus Egypt at the start of the championship.

When I compare this championship with FIFA World Cup in Qatar, I see that there are by far less upsets here than it was in Qatar. I guess that the difference in the quality of the teams participating is much bigger here than in Qatar.

[Trofo]

When I compare this championship with FIFA World Cup in Qatar, I see that there are by far less upsets here than it was in Qatar. I guess that the difference in the quality of the teams participating is much bigger here than in Qatar.

It was partly that in the beginning but not anymore. It is just the nature of the game, it is much easier to pull upset in football than it is in sport like handball. When you have a shot on goal from each team every minute, quality usualy comes out on top while in football you can always park the buss and hope for the best.

There is also nothing similar to red card in football. Here if you get red card you still get your numbers back couple of minutes later while it is almost a game over when it happens in football early enough.

[Sithara007]

Denmark is really playing the best of all teams in this championship. They won all games except the one versus Croatia. It is really a shame that Croatia allowed themself a game like the one versus Egypt at the start of the championship.

When I compare this championship with FIFA World Cup in Qatar, I see that there are by far less upsets here than it was in Qatar. I guess that the difference in the quality of the teams participating is much bigger here than in Qatar.

In terms of quality, there were far more one-sided matches in this tournament when you compare it with FIFA 2022. Although 32 teams took part in the Football World Cup, not even one of them could be considered as walkovers. Even lowest ranking teams such as Cameroon won matches against top teams. On the other hand, in this tournament the lowest ranking teams (such as Saudi Arabia and Uruguay) went down by heavy margins. BTW, both the tournaments (IHF World Cup and the FIFA world cup) had same number of participants (32). 

[slackovic]

When I compare this championship with FIFA World Cup in Qatar, I see that there are by far less upsets here than it was in Qatar. I guess that the difference in the quality of the teams participating is much bigger here than in Qatar.

It was partly that in the beginning but not anymore. It is just the nature of the game, it is much easier to pull upset in football than it is in sport like handball. When you have a shot on goal from each team every minute, quality usualy comes out on top while in football you can always park the buss and hope for the best.

There is also nothing similar to red card in football. Here if you get red card you still get your numbers back couple of minutes later while it is almost a game over when it happens in football early enough.

Yes, I was talking about games in the beginning of the championship. Now from quarter final and on I expect much tighter games and there is no more a strict favorite in any of the games. And yeah, football and handball are totally different sports but I was comparing them with intention to show that it's much "easier" to win a bet in handball than in football. But because od that odds on favorite winning are much smaller in handball than in football.

In terms of quality, there were far more one-sided matches in this tournament when you compare it with FIFA 2022. Although 32 teams took part in the Football World Cup, not even one of them could be considered as walkovers. Even lowest ranking teams such as Cameroon won matches against top teams. On the other hand, in this tournament the lowest ranking teams (such as Saudi Arabia and Uruguay) went down by heavy margins. BTW, both the tournaments (IHF World Cup and the FIFA world cup) had same number of participants (32). 

Like Trofo said, it's just the nature of the game. But that's why football is (at least for me) much more attractive sport than handball. I'm not saying that playing handball is easy, far from it. I think it's more difficult sport with many kicks that go unnoticed by the referees.

[snipie]

In terms of quality, there were far more one-sided matches in this tournament when you compare it with FIFA 2022. Although 32 teams took part in the Football World Cup, not even one of them could be considered as walkovers. Even lowest ranking teams such as Cameroon won matches against top teams. On the other hand, in this tournament the lowest ranking teams (such as Saudi Arabia and Uruguay) went down by heavy margins. BTW, both the tournaments (IHF World Cup and the FIFA world cup) had same number of participants (32). 

Like Trofo said, it's just the nature of the game. But that's why football is (at least for me) much more attractive sport than handball. I'm not saying that playing handball is easy, far from it. I think it's more difficult sport with many kicks that go unnoticed by the referees.

I believe we cannot compare football to handball for many reasons but we all know that the popularity of football is bigger and for me, the rules of handball are better and stricter than football. Although it is only 30 minutes, but it is 30 minutes of playtime not wasting time like football. Whenever a player is touched he continues playing at the opposite of football where he was trained to give a show about how a lot he suffers from a touch...

[Sithara007]

The semifinals will start in approximately 14 hours from now. I am not expecting any surprises from the first match (Denmark vs Spain), but the second match is going to be much more exciting. Sweden will be the favorites to win the second semifinal, but France is not a weak team. We have a real chance of upset during the second semi final. And France has the momentum with them, as they defeated Germany by a good margin (35-28) during the quarter-final stage. Sweden had to fight really hard during their QF clash against Egypt (26-22).    

[slackovic]

The semifinals will start in approximately 14 hours from now. I am not expecting any surprises from the first match (Denmark vs Spain), but the second match is going to be much more exciting. Sweden will be the favorites to win the second semifinal, but France is not a weak team. We have a real chance of upset during the second semi final. And France has the momentum with them, as they defeated Germany by a good margin (35-28) during the quarter-final stage. Sweden had to fight really hard during their QF clash against Egypt (26-22).    

I don't think the bookies agree with you that Sweden will be the favorite because they gave France a little more chance to win the game. Odds are 1.95 on France to win and 2.30 on Sweden to win. I actually agree with them because anyone who follows handball knows who is France. I don't remember the last time France didn't fight for the medal.

We have another interesting pair and it's Egypt vs. Germany. I think that Egypt could win this one even though the bookies give slight advantage to Germany. Odds are 1.80 for Germany and 2.55 for Egypt.

[Trofo]

Time has come for me to drop the big bet on handball. I don't think they got favorites right today and I see a lot of value in backing underdogs to cover handicap.

Spain +5.5 @1.65 seems like free money to me. Yes Denmark is better, they will probably qualify and refs will help them if it is close game but this is semi final and it should be close game. 6 goals is quite a lot and I think Spain should cover this.

Sweden +2.5 against France @1.6 also seems to good to be true. If there wasn't for that pesky Godfridsen injury I would play Sweden ML here. They were my first favorites after seeing them play and I am taking handicap on them for sure if they aren't bookies favorites.

[slackovic]

Time has come for me to drop the big bet on handball. I don't think they got favorites right today and I see a lot of value in backing underdogs to cover handicap.

Spain +5.5 @1.65 seems like free money to me. Yes Denmark is better, they will probably qualify and refs will help them if it is close game but this is semi final and it should be close game. 6 goals is quite a lot and I think Spain should cover this.

Sweden +2.5 against France @1.6 also seems to good to be true. If there wasn't for that pesky Godfridsen injury I would play Sweden ML here. They were my first favorites after seeing them play and I am taking handicap on them for sure if they aren't bookies favorites.

Yeah, those are really good odds when you know teams in handball. The problem with the bet on Sweden is that they are playing against France. And at least those of us who are Croatians know what France means in handball. I will probably go with France with that 1.95. I know that Sweden play good but we are talking about France here.

You don't bet on other games? You think that Egypt can't win against Germany? Somehow I don't think that Germany is team that it once was...

[Trofo]

Yeah, those are really good odds when you know teams in handball. The problem with the bet on Sweden is that they are playing against France. And at least those of us who are Croatians know what France means in handball. I will probably go with France with that 1.95. I know that Sweden play good but we are talking about France here.

You don't bet on other games? You think that Egypt can't win against Germany? Somehow I don't think that Germany is team that it once was...

That is not the France we remember, this France can be beaten. Not a certain thing but I feel like Sweden deserves at least even odds and bookies don't see it that way. That means those odds have immense perceived value for me and I am taking a big bet. First one already passed even though Spain was on the ropes couple of times, they were rushing the attacks and loosing balls way too often.

I don't bet on the games that have no meaning, who cares where you finish in 5-8 places rundown. You are not getting direct spot in Olympic tournament but you are getting qualifiers on all of them. I would only consider over goals bets on those games but I did not like the margins today. Germany has a really strong Handball league, same as France, that is why they will always have solid team, even if we don't know their players that well.

[Sithara007]

I don't think the bookies agree with you that Sweden will be the favorite because they gave France a little more chance to win the game. Odds are 1.95 on France to win and 2.30 on Sweden to win. I actually agree with them because anyone who follows handball knows who is France. I don't remember the last time France didn't fight for the medal.

We have another interesting pair and it's Egypt vs. Germany. I think that Egypt could win this one even though the bookies give slight advantage to Germany. Odds are 1.80 for Germany and 2.55 for Egypt.

I went with the odds from Stake.com. They gave better odds for Sweden.

But in the end, you were proven right. France had a relatively comfortable victory against Sweden and tomorrow the final will be played between Danmark and France. Ludovic Fabregas won his duel against Eric Johansson. Danmark also had a close match against Spain. The Spaniards fought back really hard during the second half (13-11). Alex Dujshebaev almost took Spain to the finals with a total of 5 goals in this match.

The odds for final are as follows:

Danmark vs France: 1.50 vs 2.80

[Daniel91]

Another interesting world handball championship is coming to an end, but we are seeing the same teams again in the finals of the competition.
Before every world or European championship, we already know in advance which national teams will fight for medals and which national teams have no chance for a medal, which is not good for the attractiveness and interest of this competition.
In fact, there are very few countries that are competitive in handball at the highest level, unlike football.
Handball rules should also be simpler for spectators, and some rules from basketball could be introduced, such as the time limitation of attacks.
It is common knowledge that the American market is the most important for any sport due to financial reasons, and until handball solves these problems, it will not be interesting for the American market.
20 years ago, we had a short dominance of Croatian handball, then a longer dominance of French handball, and now the time has come for Danish dominance in handball, and I give them a better chance in the final.

[slackovic]

Sorry, I was away from the forum for a couple of days so I couldn't comment on the games. Well... My prediction that France will again get a medal came trough. In handball France is always France. Even if they are not a team they once were, they are still playing good and beating them is never an easy task. Sweden felt the power of France in the semi final game where they were trailing few goals behind for the duration of the entire game. I'm not counting that 3-2 lead they had at the very beginning. After that France took the lead by scoring four goals without conceding and won the game in the end. The other semi final game was similar, only Spain never got to lead.

As for today's final game, I think that Denmark could win and once again become the world champion for the third time in a row. I guess the bookies agree with me because the odds are 1.58 for Denmark to win and 3.05 for France to win. Odds that France will win looks tempting as they are France, but somehow I don't think that they have what it takes to beat Denmark.

[LTU_btc]

As for today's final game, I think that Denmark could win and once again become the world champion for the third time in a row. I guess the bookies agree with me because the odds are 1.58 for Denmark to win and 3.05 for France to win. Odds that France will win looks tempting as they are France, but somehow I don't think that they have what it takes to beat Denmark.

Denmark proved again today that they're biggest force in handball now, winning 3rd World Championship in a row. They took early lead and kept it till the end. Powerful start was one of key points today, when score become 2:6, it forced France coach to take very early timeout. France didn't lead for whole game, only thing that they managed to do, equalising score few times, but in decisive minutes Denmark were confident.

[Trofo]

As for today's final game, I think that Denmark could win and once again become the world champion for the third time in a row. I guess the bookies agree with me because the odds are 1.58 for Denmark to win and 3.05 for France to win. Odds that France will win looks tempting as they are France, but somehow I don't think that they have what it takes to beat Denmark.

Denmark proved again today that they're biggest force in handball now, winning 3rd World Championship in a row. They took early lead and kept it till the end. Powerful start was one of key points today, when score become 2:6, it forced France coach to take very early timeout. France didn't lead for whole game, only thing that they managed to do, equalising score few times, but in decisive minutes Denmark were confident.

Denmark never looked under threat yesterday and took this final in impressive fashion. What to say about Lauge, minimal minutes and no goals until yesterday and then he scores 10/11 against France in final. Even pivot positions don't get conversion like that.

Now it feels even worse about how Croatia finished the competition. We had this Denmark on ropes and were playing quite poorly most other games.

[slackovic]

As for today's final game, I think that Denmark could win and once again become the world champion for the third time in a row. I guess the bookies agree with me because the odds are 1.58 for Denmark to win and 3.05 for France to win. Odds that France will win looks tempting as they are France, but somehow I don't think that they have what it takes to beat Denmark.

Denmark proved again today that they're biggest force in handball now, winning 3rd World Championship in a row. They took early lead and kept it till the end. Powerful start was one of key points today, when score become 2:6, it forced France coach to take very early timeout. France didn't lead for whole game, only thing that they managed to do, equalising score few times, but in decisive minutes Denmark were confident.

Denmark never looked under threat yesterday and took this final in impressive fashion. What to say about Lauge, minimal minutes and no goals until yesterday and then he scores 10/11 against France in final. Even pivot positions don't get conversion like that.

Now it feels even worse about how Croatia finished the competition. We had this Denmark on ropes and were playing quite poorly most other games.

Yeah, I thought that France could be more of a threat to Denmark but it didn't happen. I tried my luck with that high odd but I guess it was that high for a reason. So Denmark managed to become the world champion for the third time in a row. Congrats to them and for Croatia I wish that handball in Croatia won't follow the path of the basketball national team.

[casperBGD]

~snip

Now it feels even worse about how Croatia finished the competition. We had this Denmark on ropes and were playing quite poorly most other games.

yeah, that was only draw for Denmark, and only match that was even close for them, all other they won in a good fashion without much doubt
nevertheless, it was a good odd to bet on them, and I used it for finals (didn't bet earlier), although did not watch the match in the end

anyway, congrats to Danes on 3rd title in the row

[Sithara007]

~~~
anyway, congrats to Danes on 3rd title in the row

LOL.. turned out to be a pretty much one-sided match, as Danmark won with a big margin (34-29). I don't know whether Sweden could have performed better in case they had won the semi-final match (they lost the 3rd place match as well, to Spain). International Handball Federation organized this tournament pretty well, as it is not a small task to schedule all the 112 matches (for comparison, the 2022 FIFA world cup in Qatar had a total of 64 matches). My only disappointment is that teams outside Europe (apart from Egypt perhaps) didn't performed well this time around. Anyway, see you all in 2025!

[slackovic]

LOL.. turned out to be a pretty much one-sided match, as Danmark won with a big margin (34-29). I don't know whether Sweden could have performed better in case they had won the semi-final match (they lost the 3rd place match as well, to Spain). International Handball Federation organized this tournament pretty well, as it is not a small task to schedule all the 112 matches (for comparison, the 2022 FIFA world cup in Qatar had a total of 64 matches). My only disappointment is that teams outside Europe (apart from Egypt perhaps) didn't performed well this time around. Anyway, see you all in 2025!

/snip

Well, since handball is mostly a European sport, it's to be expected that European teams play the biggest role in the World Championship. Anyway, congratulations to Denmark, France and Spain on winning their medals. It will be interesting to see how Croatian handball will look like in the European Championship next year.