four chapters to remember :: zerozero.pt
* Article originally written in January 2021 and adapted for the 2023 World Cup antechamber
And they go five final stages in a row to Portugal! Since 2020, the national team from Quinas has not missed a presence on the big stages and for 2023 a new presence in World Championships is reserved.
It is the fifth Portuguese participation and the second consecutive, something that also happened 20 years ago, in the 2001 and 2003 editions. It is time to pull the ribbon back and remember Portugal’s previous participations in World Cups.
Portugal’s World Cup debut took place in 1997, at the World Cup organized by Japan. The Portuguese team was trapped in the Group Cthat was played no Yamagata Prefectural Gym.
Aleksander Donner guided Portugal in their World Cup debut Aleksander Donner
the class commanded by Alexander Donner started in the best way, with a triumph against Brazil (26-18), the unique win offered. Four defeats followed, against Tunisia (19-18), Czech Republic (28-24), Spain (26-29) and Egypt (25-29).
The two points added were insufficient to stamp the passage to the round of 16 and Portugal stayed in 19th place, in an edition won by Russia. At the individual level, Viktor Tchikoulaev was the Portuguese top scorer, with 21 goals scored in five matches.
After failing to attend the World Cup 1999the selection of corners secured qualification for the 2001 World Championship, hosted by France. Portugal was included in the A groupthat was played no Palais des Sports René-Bougnolthe former home of the Montpellier HB.
Eduardo Filipe was one of the Portuguese scorers, in the clash with France Getty / Martin Rose
More experienced in this type of wanderings, the set guided by Javier Garcia Cuesta achieved two triumphs in the Group Stage, against the Czech Republic (29-19) and Morocco (30-26), having recorded defeats against Iceland (22-19), Egypt (23-19), which went to the discussion of the bronze medal, and Sweden (25-32), world runner-up.
The four points earned were worth a fourth place and a place in the round of 16, where Portugal faced mighty france. The Gauls won (23-18) and moved on, a path that ended with the raising of the world scepter.
This performance earned Portugal 16th place and, at an individual level, Carlos Resende was the Portuguese top scorer, with 37 goals scored in six matches.
Not with the presence 2003 World Cup, this time as host, Portugal secured the second consecutive presence in the World Championships. The Lusa team was included in the Group Cthat played in Multipurpose Pavilion in Viseu.
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Once again, a class commanded by Javier Garcia Cuesta surpassed itself, conquering three victories, against Greenland (34-19), Qatar (21-31) and Australia (42-20), and only two wishes, against Iceland (29-28) and Germany (29-37). With six points, the Portuguese took third place and went on to the Main Round, where they were in the Group IInot played Municipal Pavilion of Póvoa de Varzim.
A defeat against Yugoslavia (30-28) and a triumph against Tunisia (27-26) were insufficient for the Portuguese team to move on, but ended up earning a 12th place, which meant the best Portuguese performance ever at the World Cup. At the individual level, Carlos Resende returned to being the Portuguese top scorer, with 36 ten in seven dates.
For the last participation in Worlds was the best result in history. Boosted by their shine at Euro 2020, the renewed Portuguese generation got the ticket for the 2021 World Cup in Secretary, as a result of the cancellation of qualification due to the pandemic. It was the return to World Cups, 18 years later.
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In Cairo, capital of Egypt, the mix between youth and experience that Paulo Pereira cooked up turned out to be very successful. N/A group stagePortugal was full of victories (25-23 vs Iceland, 20-33 vs morocco and 26-19 vs Algeria) and followed with maximum confidence for the Main Round.
on one group with big sharks European candidates for the conquest of gold, the Portuguese still threatened a joke, but a victory (29-33 vs Switzerland) in the midst of defeats (28-29 vs norway and 23-32 vs France) turned out not to be enough for something even grander.
Still, for the story, it gets an epic 10th place and a performance that put Portuguese handball on the route of the best in the world, with clear attention turned to an entire generation.
At the individual level, Miguel Martins was the best Portuguese scorer (27 goals in 6 games) and humberto gomes he was the most effective goalkeeper of the entire tournament (33 saves in 76 shots).