“Champions”? Yesterday was handball day. What our selection is doing is historical

Portugal took place this Wednesday for the first time for the semi-finals of the Handball World Championship, beating the runner-up of the world and Olympic, Germany, in the quarterfinals, 31-30, after extension .

Someone spoke in? ? Champions? Passage to play-offs? Yesterday was a historic day for Portuguese sport, but not for football.

The Portuguese team of handball defeated the runner-up of the world and Olympic on Wednesday night in Oslo; And for the first time, it will be present in the World Cup semi-finals.

The Portuguese team entered the meeting better and reached the break with four goals of advantage, 13-9, with the Germans recovered in the second half, which ended equal to 26-26.

In extension, the two teams were always close to the marker, and Portugal eventually triumphed for 31-30with a shot, in the last “sigh” of Martim Costa.

Historical and epic. Portugal is in the semi-finals of the Handball World Cup! 👏🇵🇹

— B24 (@B24PT)

Portugal now faces the ‘socks’ Trich champion in title Denmarkthis Friday, at 19:30, in Baerum, Norway, in a game to be broadcast live on RTP2.

Portugal continues to make history

Only with the presence in the ‘rooms’ Portugal had already secured its best result ever in six world championship presences (1997, 2001, 2003, 2021, 2023 and 2025). The best classification had been, until then, the 10th place in 2021.

The President of the Republic, MARCELO REBELO DE SOUSAcongratulated Portugal for the unprecedented determination for the semi-finals of the Handball World Cup

“The enthusiasm, the determination and the huge desire to win, have been in our selection, in their athletes, coach and coaching staff, a constant that honors and prides all Portuguese,” wrote Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, published in published in site of the presidency.

Remember that the beginning of this walk was troubled after the team of the selection MIGUEL MARTINS has accused positive in a doping test.

In addition, Portugal have taken one less player It also made some noise before the competition started.

The coach Paulo Jorge Pereira kicked responsibilities to The President of the Federation Luís Miguel Laranjeiro.

Using social networks, where he made a point of showing that he was seeing the game, the prime minister Luís Montenegro It also congratulated the national team.

“And now simply congratulations. Brilliant heroes of the sea”You can read in the message left in X by the Luso ruler, after the triumph before the German team.

And now simply congratulations 🇵🇹 Brilliant Heroes of the Sea

– Luís Montenegro (@lmontenegropm)

“This was a job of many years, a lot of people, the clubs …”praised the president of the Handball Federation Luís Miguel Laranjeiro, in statements to. “It’s a united, focused, professional group … It’s a group of excellence that combines youth with experience,” he added.

“The best there is in the world”

Speaking to the Lusa Agency, Paulo Fariawhich was in the first Portuguese presence in a Handball World Cup in 1997, considers that the team has players “the best there is in the world”.

“It has been unheard of after unprecedented. This game was superb. The incredible maturity these players had. Have been winning much of the game, they lose the game, have a red [para Luís Frade] Highly debatable, they can handle, and manage to go forward again, ”he said Thursday.

The triumph, which put the team on the ‘socks’, showed “the ability to suffer, but also the individual quality” of a group that was once visited during this final phase.

Suffering, he says, is part of the high level they are playing, followingFriday, “The best team in the world”the three -time world champion Denmark, but the ambition goes hand in hand with the historical achievements.

“From the moment we reach the quarterfinals, Paulo Jorge Pereira, and all of us, think of being world champions. Of course it is one step at a time, but the dream is to be world champions. In my school, we have 500 students and are all accompanying the World Cup, everyone wants to be world champions. The selection deserves the whole country to be celebrating, ”he says.

With an eye on a new trip to Norway, to be close to this historic selection again, Paulo Faria sees this work group as being at the top of all that Portugal has had.

“Indeed, this generation, and this selection is not quite a generation, has different ages, this group of athletes, in the last four or five years, has shown a lot of quality. They did things that we in my time couldn’t do it. We overcome Germany once, but this beautiful maturity, this ability to suffer… not to offend anyone, I say there may be other equal generations, but better that this is no one, ”he says.

So, what remains is “ Good envy ”. “Of all of us. I wish me Being there on the pitch, playing. But I know that what they are living are so good moments we have is to be proud. Good envy is the best thing, ”he says.

Paulo Faria played at Sporting, ABC and Águas Santas, then training the ‘lions’ and the formation of Maia, and played in 118 games of the Portuguese main national team, which he represented in the 1994 European and then at the 1997 World Cup, The first to which Portugal arrived.