Portugal lost in the final dress rehearsal for the European Championship
Today, Saturday, the national team lost the second preparatory match to Germany (31-35) at the Wondrino Arena (Kiel), in what was the last test before its first participation in the European Championship, which will be held on German soil starting on the 10th of this month. Until January 28.
After his defeat on Thursday (33-34)The team led by Paulo Pereira started the match well but were later punished with too many two-minute disqualifications (four, compared to just one for the opponent), which affected the result. In the second half, Portugal lost by five goals (15-20).
In the second half, the Bahr champions tried to reduce the difference, but it seemed that the experienced German team took control of things. But Portugal never gave up, and Pedro Portela put the score within just one goal (28-29) ten minutes from time. Then the home team woke up again and did not make things easier until the end, reducing the score by four goals (35-31), in a match attended by 10,000 spectators.
With 9 goals, Kiko Costa was the top scorer for Portugal. On the German side, Yuri Knorr shined with 6 goals.
The next match is already coming up, on Thursday (5pm), against Greece in their European Championship debut. The Czech Republic and Denmark will then follow in the group stage, with the top two teams qualifying for the main round.
By Diogo Jesus
“Food fanatic. Organizer. Hipster-friendly tv specialist. Avid reader. Devoted web ninja.”
