After their impressive fourth-place finish at the 2025 World Championship, Portugal returned to a major national team competition as they took on Romania in their first game of the European Championships.
Currently coaching Dinamo Bucuresti, it’s hard to believe that Portuguese coach Paulo Jorge Pereira was caught off guard by the Romanians, but the fact is, the national team started uncharacteristically. Technical errors in attack saw Portugal fall behind by two goals (2-4), but it was just a bump on the road in what was to become a dominant display.
By the eighth minute, Portugal took the lead for the first time (5-4), and by the 15-minute mark, they had already doubled their goal tally (12-6), leaving little doubt about the outcome.
The second half saw Portugal remain in control, managing their lead and never allowing Romania to get back into the game. The only real scare occurred in the 38th minute, when Martim Costa (six goals) went down clutching his right ankle after a collision with the goalkeeper. In a match where he surpassed his father, Ricardo, for most goals scored by a Portuguese player in European Championships (60), the Sporting player spent most of the second half on the bench.
In the other match of the early evening, Iceland took no prisoners against unsung Italy as they ran away with a very comfortable 39-26 win.
The opening match of the Men's EHF EURO 2026 group F in Kristianstad proved to be a historic one. Italy made their return to the European championships after 28 years, but it was Iceland who went away celebrating, after collecting their biggest win ever at a European Championship final tournament.
Iceland head coach Snorri Steinn Gudjónsson must be very pleased with his team’s performance against an Italian side with fighting spirit and an unconventional defensive approach. His team had to shake off their nerves in the first quarter of the match, but their reaction was impressive.
A 14-5 run from the 15th minute until half-time paved the way for a dominant victory in their opening match.
Goalkeeper Viktor Hallgrímsson looked strong between the posts with three saves from the penalty line (60 per cent), while Janus Daði Smárason, Ómar Ingi Magnússon, and Gísli Kristjánsson combined for 21 goals.