Portugal beat Cape Verde 35-23 this Friday for the regular phase of the Handball World Cup, in Gothenburg, and continue to aim for one of two places in Group II for the quarter-finals.
With Prime Minister António Costa on the bench at the Scandinavium Arena, who eventually went down to honor António Areia as ‘man of the match’, Portugal won a triumph that means it can look forward to Sunday’s game with Sweden with optimism.
In the second Portuguese-language game in Gothenburg, after a Wednesday draw with Brazil (28-28), Portugal faced Cape Verde, led by Serb Ljubomir Obradovic, coach of Avanca, and with 11 players playing in national clubs.
After a first half in which they failed in the decisions, registering 14-12 at half-time, the Portuguese team had an impeccable second half, with a partial 21-11, making good use of Cabo Verde’s mistakes, allowing them to win with 35-23.
The start of the game was marked by some offensive ineffectiveness on the part of the Portuguese team, largely due to the aggressive Cape Verdean defense, which resulted in the two-minute exclusions of Paulo Moreno, Bruno Landim and Décio Pina.
After being at a disadvantage to 4-2, Portugal, despite some offensive and defensive inefficiency, took the lead 7-4 with a 5-0 partial lead, with goals from Alexandre Cavalcanti, Diogo Branquinho, Pedro Portela (2) and Rui Silva.
The Cape Verdean team, resorting to seven against six, reacted to the difference and with a 3-0 took advantage in part of the lack of consistency in the Portuguese game to draw at 7-7, with a goal scored by winger Flávio strong .
Successive draws followed, at 8-8 and 9-9, until Portugal, improving its play, opened to a three-point lead, at 12-9, with goals from Fábio Magalhães, António Areia, in the conversion of a seven-meter free kick and Martim Costa.
Portugal then missed the chance to extend the advantage even further, with Cape Verde narrowing the difference to just one goal, at 13-12, with Luís Frade scoring two goals at half-time (14-12).
The second half started with two saves from Manuel Gaspar, two goals from António Areia, who converted a free-kick from seven yards and on the wing, and from Rui Silva, who increased the lead to five, at 17-12, putting the team peace of mind Portuguese.
The advantage on the scoreboard opened to eight goals at 23-15, highlighting António Areia’s efficiency on the seven yards, and to 14 at 30-16, with some accurate shots without the Cape Verdean goalkeeper in the goal, during the seven against six.
The meeting ended with an important victory for Portugal, which still has ambitions to be present in the quarter-finals, a situation that depends on the last game with the selection of Sweden, co-host of the competition and European champion in the title.
Left winger António Areia, with nine goals in 10 shots, equivalent to an efficiency of 90%, was the star in the performance, while in the Cape Verdean national team that role belonged to Délcio Pina, with six in 12 attempts.
António Costa congratulates the handball team he wants to see in his rooms
Prime Minister António Costa on Friday congratulated the Portuguese handball team on their victory over Cape Verde at the World Cup, confident of a historic qualification for the quarter-finals.
“It was a very good match. I haven’t seen a handball match live in a long time. It was good to be back at a handball match and see Portugal win. I hope we can beat Sweden on Sunday to continue in the World Cup” , he said after the challenge in Gothenburg, Sweden.
The ruler spoke after the victory, 35-23, over the African team in the second match in group II of the main round, which keeps open the unprecedented qualification for the eight best in the world – the best Portuguese record was 10th place in 2021 .
“I believe in everything. Every game is different. Cape Verde also played very well. They fought well. It’s nice to see a group with three teams speaking Portuguese. Portugal played better, scored more, won and now we have to go back to play better and score more on Sunday against Sweden,” he stressed.
The ‘heroes of the sea’ are in second place in Pool II, with five points, one less than leaders Sweden and one more than Iceland, third, teams who also face each other in Gothenburg today.
António Costa visited the team’s dressing room “to thank the Portuguese for the joy they have given, for the way they represent the flag and the country, and to wish them all the best for Sunday’s game, which for them is decisive to pass to the next step”.
On Sunday, Portugal has the decisive meeting against hosts Sweden in the third and final meeting in the Main Round.
Source: DN
