GROUP I
SPAIN vs PORTUGAL 27:35 (12:16)
H2H: 11-0-2
Top scorers: Jan Gurri 6/10, Aleix Gómez 6/7 (ESP); Francisco Costa 7/13 (POR)
Goalkeepers: Sergey Hernández 8/41, Ignacio Biosca 0/1 (ESP); Gustavo Capdeville 3/8, Diogo Valério 7/25 (POR)
POTM presented by Grundfos: Martim Costa (POR)
- in their 50th EHF EURO match, Portugal scored a 6:0 run in the middle of the first half for the 9:4 lead to shock Spain, which was crucial for the 16:12 half-time advantage
- goalkeeper Diogo Valério and the Costa brothers, who combined for 10 of 16 goals before the break, were the driving forces for Paulo Pereira’s team
- Spain improved after the break, especially in terms of efficiency in attack, but even though Sergey Hernández saved some shots, the gap did not decrease significantly
- finally, a double strike of line player Victor Iturizza for 30:23 decided the encounter, in which Portugal were never endangered by their neighbours
- Gustavo Capdeville, who replaced Valério, backed his side after the break, and the final margin could have been bigger, as Portugal missed many chances in the 25th EHF EURO match of António Areia
Only legend Carlos Resende stays ahead of the Costa brothers
Martim and Francisco Costa are only 20 and 23 years old, and they already rock the handball world. Two years ago, Martim was the All-star Team left back and top scorer alongside Mathias Gidsel. At the 2025 IHF World Championship, both Martim and Francisco were in the All-star Team. But one statistic highlights their importance for the Portuguese team: after playing only two EHF EURO final tournaments, the brothers are already the second and third-best all-time scorers for Portugal at the European Championship.
At the top of the charts is Portugal’s legend Carlos Resende, who needed four EHF EUROs to score his 108 goals. Martim had already taken the second position before their last main round match against Spain, and he is now boasting 89 goals, while “Kiko” is third with 84 — and the younger brother currently leads the overall EHF EURO 2026 top scorers’ list with 53 goals.