Portugal set scoring record against Romania in group B opener

GROUP B

Portugal vs Romania 40:34 (23:15)

H2H: 4-0-4
Top scorers: Francisco Costa 9/13 (Portugal), Daniel Stanciuc 8/14 (Romania)
Goalkeeper saves: Gustavo Capdeville 9/35, Diogo Valério 0/8 (Portugal); Ionuț Iancu 8/35, Mihai Popescu 2/10 (Romania)
POTM presented by Grundfos: Francisco Costa (Portugal)

• Romania held a narrow lead until the sixth minute, when Portugal took control, forcing Romania’s coach George Buricea to call a team timeout a few minutes later in the 10th minute with his side trailing by three goals (4:7)
• Francisco Costa scored five goals in the first half and 10 different Portuguese players joined him on the scoresheet in the opening 30 minutes, with the squad's shot efficiency at 77 per cent
• Daniel Stanciuc was Romania's key player with four goals in each half to his name
• Martim Costa scored seven goals and surpassed his father, Ricardo, on Portugal's EHF EURO all-time scoring list, with the centre back now sitting in third place
• a second half full of open play and fast break goals saw Romania keeping Portugal on their toes, ready to exploit any drop in energy

Costa brothers get the Portuguese party started

Despite Romania's lively start, once the fourth-ranked national team from the 2025 IHF World Championship began to fly on the court with 20-year-old Francisco Costa scoring an incredible in-flight in the 12th minute to announce their dominance, the match turned into a one-way street.

Power, pace and efficiency: the Heróis do Mar's performance had everything and enabled Paulo Pereira to make use of his full squad and keep his key players fresh for the next challenges in group B. With the Costa brothers (16 goals) and Salvador Salvador (six) combining for 22 goals altogether, Portugal's comfortable victory was not in question at any point throughout the match.

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