Portugal’s experience at the IHF Men’s World Championship is not vast, with the European side making the final cut in only five editions prior to Croatia/Denmark/Norway 2025. But they have not finished lower than 19th and have been a dark horse in the previous two editions, Egypt 2021 and Poland/Sweden 2023, when they ended up 10th and 13th, after an 18-year wait to return to the biggest of stages.

Rebuilding Portugal into a strong side was a mammoth task for Paulo Pereira, but the European side completed several milestones along the way, such as participating in their maiden edition of the Olympic Games – at Tokyo 2020 – as well as finishing sixth at the EHF EURO 2020 and seventh at the EHF EURO 2024.

Portugal have, therefore, became a staple team in major international competitions and Croatia/Denmark/Norway 2025 will mark the first time when Pereira’s side has qualified for the IHF Men’s World Championship three times in a row, becoming a certainty rather than the odd team in. For the 2025 IHF Men's World Championship, they breezed through in the final tournament, sealing a 55:45 aggregate win against Bosnia Herzegovina in the Qualification Europe – Phase 2 Part 2.

The core of the team which has seen such a great uptick, with players like backs Rui Silva and Miguel Martins, as well as line player Luis Frade, who has come of age in the past years, has been left intact, but Pereira has more talent at his disposal, with the emergence of the Costa brothers.

Touted as the next big thing in handball, Martim and Francisco Costa have been coming of age over the last three years, with the former becoming the top goal scorer at the EHF EURO 2024, with 54 goals, while the latter, still only 19 years old – turning 20 just after Croatia/Denmark/Norway 2025 finishes – has dazzled with his skills and speed.

The two brothers are the building blocks for the future of the Portugal men’s senior national team, with fantastic talent and potential in their hands, but they are also the present, getting more and more time on the court, after making their debuts at the IHF Men’s World Championship two years ago, when Portugal finished 13th at Poland/Sweden 2023.

Moreover, Portugal have plenty of young talent available in the pipeline, after their junior teams finished fourth and sixth respectively at the 2021 and 2023 IHF Men’s Junior World Championship and second at the M20 EHF EURO 2022 and the M20 EHF EURO 2024.

The transition from the junior to the senior team is carefully managed, with a perfect mix for a squad that aims for more at Croatia/Denmark/Norway 2025, as Portugal will try to make the quarter-finals for the first time in history.

That will be no easy feature, with several teams vying for the spots, but first the European side must face co-hosts Norway, South American champions Brazil and the United States of America in Group E of the preliminary round, which will take place in the Unity Arena in Bærum.

The two European sides in the group have met six times, with Norway taking four wins and Portugal two wins, with four of those meeting taking place in the last four years, including two in 2024. 

Portugal took one win this year, 37:32, in January, at the EHF EURO 2024, but Norway avenged that loss with a 32:29 win at the Olympic Qualification Tournament for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, in a match which took place in March, in Tatabanya, Hungary, as Jonas Wille’s side secured the coveted Olympic berth.

The only mutual match at the IHF Men’s World Championship took place at Egypt 2021, in the main round, when Portugal returned after nearly two decades to the world handball flagship competition, as Norway edged their counterparts by a single goal, 29:28.

Portugal are also unbeaten in the matches against Brazil clinching the first meeting, 18:26, in the preliminary round at the 1997 IHF Men’s World Championship, and drawing the second one, two years ago, at Poland/Sweden 2023, 28:28. Paulo Pereira’s side will be facing the USA for the first time.

Key players: Francisco Costa (right back), Martim Costa (left back), Rui Silva (centre back)

Qualification: Qualifiers Europe – Phase 2 (55:45 aggregate win against Bosnia Herzegovina)

History in the competition: 1997: 19th, 2001: 16th, 2003: 12th, 2021: 10th, 2023: 13th

Group at CRO/DEN/NOR 2025: Group E (Norway, Portugal, Brazil, United States of America)