Portugal and Norway split the points as semi-final hopes fade

GROUP I

Portugal vs Norway 35:35 (17:18)

H2H: 5-1-5
Top scorers: Luís Frade 11/13 (POR); August Pedersen 10/13 (NOR)
Goalkeeper saves: Gustavo Capdeville 0/9, Diogo Valério 12/38 (POR); Torbjørn Bergerud 10/33, Robin Haug 5/17 (NOR)
POTM presented by Grundfos: Luís Frade (POR)

• right back Patrick Anderson was Norway’s best weapon in attack in the first half, netting eight times and combining for 14 goals together with left wing August Pedersen
• Portugal had problems finding their regular flow, but profited from the huge number of Norwegian mistakes in attack and line player Luís Frade’s strikes to be only one goal behind at the break
• three Torbjørn Bergerud saves within 40 seconds were converted by his teammates into three counterattack goals to pull ahead for 23:20 — but as on the other side, Diogo Valério improved, everything was equal again at 24:24
• the match went back and forth, with Portugal having a light advantage, as Valério became increasingly important and Frade kept on scoring and scoring, unstoppable by the Norwegian defence
• entering the last minute, the score was level at 35:35; when Torbjørn Bergerud saved Martim Costa’s shot, Norway had a chance at victory, but Valério stopped Simen Lyse’s attempt

Costa brothers’ impact minimised

Francisco Costa is the current top scorer of the Men’s EHF EURO 2026, but he spent three-quarters of the match against Norway on the bench.

While older brother Martim entered the court in the middle of the first half, the fans needed to wait until minute 43 for Francisco’s arrival. Only one minute later, the right back equalised at 27:27. And finally, when both brothers were part of the match, Portugal managed to take the lead.

‘Kiko’ Costa could have decided the match in minute 58, but failed with a penalty against Robin Haug at the score of 34:33. He did score Portugal’s 35th goal, but his brother’s attempt for the winner was saved. The brothers ended the match with four goals each, one of their lowest combined scores of the tournament so far.

Photos © kolektiff images