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January 31, 2025A roller-coaster of a match saw Portugal lead, mount a comeback and deliver a fatal blow with three seconds left in extra-time, beating Germany, 31:30, and securing their maiden semi-finals in their history at the IHF Men’s World Championship.
QUARTER-FINALS
Portugal vs Germany 31:30 a.e.t. (13:9; 26:26)
60 minutes away from a historic performance. And then there were 30. And then everything looked lost. And then they came back. And then they won.
Portugal and Germany delivered an epic battle in the last quarter-final of the 2025 IHF Men’s World Championship, with Paulo Pereira’s team securing their maiden semi-finals berth, after a dramatic 31:30 win, in extra-time.
For six minutes and eight seconds, Germany knocked at Portugal’s door with everything they had. But they were left emptyhanded, with plenty to improve, as Renars Uscins finally broke the deadlock for the runners-up at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
But were it not for Andreas Wolff, who saved four of the first five shots he faced, Germany would have been deep, deep down the maze. With his fantastic, acrobatic stops, Wolff kept his team in the match, with Portugal never going ahead by more than four goals, 7:3.
It was a slow, predictable, dire first half from Germany, as they turned the ball over eight times, converted only 50% of their shots, as coach Alfred Gislason put Juri Knorr fast on the court, despite the centre back’s issues with a virus, which prevented Knorr to play in the previous matches.
Nevertheless, with Portugal holding a four-goal lead at the break, 13:9, things were not looking necessarily perilous for Germany, as longs as Wolff was going to maintain his rhythm. As previously proved in the quarter-finals of the 2025 IHF Men’s World Championship, comebacks can happen.
And when Luis Frade conceded a red card for a tough foul against Renars Uscins, questions marks were starting to appear over Portugal’s ability to handle the pressure and the challenge mounted by Germany.
First, it was Julian Köster who scored twice. Then the passes to the line player – Johannes Golla – started to be converted. And just like that, as Portugal were starting to falter, scoring just five times in the first 13 minutes of the second half, Germany were back in the match, 18:17.
And then, Wolff did his magic again. After a brief pause, he resumed with more outstanding saves, in consecutive one-on-one situations, against both Francisco Costa and Martim Costa, Portugal’s top scorers in the competition.
In fact, both had matches to forget, combining for nine goals from 20 shots in regular time, as Wolff took his lion’s share from their shots, playing as a man possessed, making 15 saves for a 44% efficiency, with seven minutes to go in the match.
And somehow, Germany not only were still in the match, but, by that point, in the 53rd minute, when the score was tied, 22:22, they had even held a two-goal lead, 20:18, with a 6:1 run spanning between the 38th and the 47th minutes helping Gislason’s side mount the spirited comeback.
But after two quarter-finals decided at the buzzer, both Portugal and Germany decided that more drama was on the menu, with Wolff doing just enough to keep his team afloat (18 saves for a 42% saving efficiency) and push the match into extra-time, as Germany could not score with their last attack, never even shooting.
Yet there was more drama around the corner. And it all centred down on the Costa brothers and Wolff, a battle which will be talked about for years to come.
This time around, Wolff, the hummel Player of the Match, who finished with 21 saves and a 42% saving efficiency, could not stop the Costa pair, as Francisco and Martim shined when their team needed them the most.
Martim scored three times in the extra 10 minutes of the match, including the decisive goal, which came with three seconds left on the clock, while Francisco had one more goal, to lift Portugal to an otherworldly 31:30 win, underlining this team’s potential and penchant for surprise.
From dark horses to a medal candidate, Portugal remained undefeated and set up a crunch semi-final against Denmark on Friday, in the Unity Arena, leaving Germany emptyhanded after one of the most special matches at Croatia/Denmark/Norway 2025, a true roller-coaster, which had everything.
hummel Player of the Match: Andreas Wolff (Germany)