Portugal U-18 handball teams begin European and World Championship campaigns

Men's Under-18 European Championship

The under-18 men's national team faces the Czech Republic this Wednesday in the European Championship for this age group, held at the Branislav Pokrajac Sports Center in Belgrade, Serbia.

Among the 16 players selected by coach Nuno Santos, Miguel Mendes (injured) has been replaced by Diogo Silva.

In Group C of the preliminary phase, Portugal will also face Croatia (Thursday) and Israel (Saturday). The top two teams from the group advance to the Main Round, among 24 competing nations.

Speaking to the FAP website, coach Nuno Santos commented:

"We already faced the Czech Republic in the Algarve Tournament and ended up defeated. I am sure there will be two very disputed games. With Miguel Mendes leaving, we lost some defensive capacity, but also a very important player in attack, due to the way he unlocked situations and thought about the game. We really want to reach the Main Round and we will do everything to achieve it."

Despite recent absences, the coach believes the team can grow throughout the competition:

"You never reach the competition exactly at the point you intended, especially after the absences we had, first with Pedro Neves and now with Miguel Mendes, which affect us both defensively and offensively. Even so, we believe we can evolve throughout the competition and we will try to adapt as quickly as possible."

Women's Under-18 World Cup

The women's under-18 national team plays this Wednesday against Argentina in the 1st round of Group D of the World Championship for this age group, taking place in Romania.

Portugal will also face Montenegro (Thursday) and the Netherlands (Saturday), with the top two teams in the group advancing to the Main Round.

Coach Sandra Fernandes analyzed the upcoming matches:

"We expect a very difficult initial phase, balanced and with high competitive demands. We will face quality teams and we know we will have to be at our best level from the first game. I believe our defensive capacity and our fast game can be differentiating factors. If we can defend aggressively, recover balls and impose a high pace in transitions, we will have more opportunities to contest the games and be competitive."

She continued:

"Argentina and Montenegro are two very competitive opponents that will pose different challenges to us. Argentina is an intense and very combative team, while Montenegro presents great individual quality and physical power. It will be essential to enter focused, respecting the opponents, but also trusting in what we have prepared during this work period."

Beyond the final result, the coach emphasized the developmental importance of the competition:

"The main objective is for the team to be competitive in all games and to be able to grow throughout the competition. We want to contest each match until the end, demonstrating our identity and the evolution this group has been achieving. At the same time, this World Championship is a unique opportunity for the development of these young athletes. Competing at the highest international level allows them to gain experience, maturity and the ability to respond to highly demanding contexts, something that will be very important for the future of the National Team."