Paulo Pereira in tears: My guys are not only clever, they are also a real fighters!

Posted on 21. January 2026.

There have been big wins in the history of Portuguese handball, but this 31:29 victory over Denmark — in front of 15,000 Danish fans in Herning — will have a special place when the story of the Costa brothers’ generation is told. No wonder the experienced “professor”, head coach Paulo Pereira, was in tears as he spoke in the mixed zone of the BOXEN arena. After finishing fourth, taking the scalp of the Danes suggests the Portuguese could be capable of turning even their wildest dreams into reality…

“All the team was important — not only Salvador and Iturriza, but also the players in the lateral defensive positions. I think we defended really well, but above all we fought a lot. Once again, I’m very proud of these players. They are not only smart, but real fighters. I like them more and more. We wrote history by playing here in front of this crowd and delivering a performance like this — especially with such consistency. We never lost control of our game plan. We changed a few details, but the plan was really good. Now we need to rest and then focus on Germany”, said Pereira and added:

We didn’t have many saves, but the important thing is that Emil is the best. I told him: don’t make too many saves — just do what you normally do. And that was very good for us. We have a lot of discipline. We know what to do and we stay consistent. That’s the key”, concluded Portuguese coach.