Paulo Moreno promises Cape Verde to fight to the end with Portugal – Observer
The captain of the Cape Verde handball team, Paulo Moreno, who represents Benfica, promised, this Thursday, “a fighting spirit and a fight to the end” in Friday’s game against Portugal, for the World Cup, in Gothenburg , in Sweden.
Center Paulo Moreno, 30 years old, admits that the two met at different levels and classified the meeting with Portugal, on Friday, at Scandinavium Arena, for Group II of the main phase as “special”.
“It is the lusophony game. All players know us and we know them too. It will be an interesting game”said Paulo Moreno, referring to the fact that most representatives of Cape Verde play in Portuguese clubs.
The Cape Verde national team is led by Serbian Ljubomir Obradovic, coach of Avanca with a vast curriculum in Portugal, having even been champion for FC Porto six times, includes 11 players to play in Portugal.
“We know perfectly well what level Portugal is at. We are in a recent project, with good, quality players who have evolved a lot, but who are in a different stage and in a ‘timing’”, adds Paulo Moreno.
The Cape Verdean captain points out that “Portugal has evolved a lot and presents good results in the recent European and World Cups and even due to the historic qualification for the Olympic Games” Tokyo 2020 (played in 2021 due to Covid-19).
“We know perfectly well that we are a step above us, but that doesn’t mean anything. We are warriors, we show good handball and fighting spirit and fight until the end and that is what we will try to continue to show”, she said.
Cape Verde entered the main stage as third in Group C, behind Sweden and Brazil, with a historic victory over Uruguay, by 33-25, which was the first ever in a final stage of a World Cup.
Paulo Moreno has no doubt that Cape Verdeans “are proud of the team’s performance” and the group wants to “repay with good results and good performances, in order to grow in the sport and take Cape Verde across borders”.
“Players evolve when they play against the best. And here are the best players and the best coaches, on top of that playing in the ‘main round’, which is a privilege not available to all teams”, explained Paulo Moreno.
For the captain of the Cape Verde national team, being present at this stage of the competition is what the players like most and it is playing the big games, against the best teams, “that the stimuli for evolution and growth arise”.
Cape Verde made its debut in Group II with a defeat against Iceland, by 40-30, a team that beat Portugal, by 30-26, and remains in the sixth and last position, with zero points. The group is led by the co-host and European champion Sweden, with six points.
In addition to Paulo Moreno, the Cape Verde national team includes the following players who will play in the Portuguese teams: Luís Almeida (Estrela da Amadora), Nélson Pina (Belenenses), Paulo Andrade (Dom Fuas), Estaliny Furtado and Rafael Andrade (Póvoa) , Edmilson Garcia (Avanca), Felisberto Landim (Vitória de Setúbal), Délcio Pina (Marítimo), Edmilson Araújo (Sporting) and Leandro Semedo (Benfica).