When Portugal returned to the IHF Men’s World Championship at Egypt 2021, they were a big unknown. Sure, the European side had finished sixth at the EHF EURO 2020, only one year before, but was the core of the team strong enough to keep Portugal at the same level?

Four years later, Portugal are once again dark horses, with a 10th place finish at Egypt 2021, a 13th place finish at Poland/Sweden 2023 and their maiden appearance at the Olympic Games, where they finished ninth.

Times have changed, however, and players have come and gone. Stalwarts like Rui Silva, Miguel Martins, Pedro Portela or Luis Frade have carried the load and will bring the experience to the table at Croatia/Denmark/Norway 2025. But younger players have taken the baton now, ensuring that the European side has a bright future ahead of them.

The Costa brothers – Martim, the EHF EURO 2024 top goal scorer and Francisco - or goalkeeper Diogo Rema Marques, are on the right side of their 20s or, in Francisco’s case, still teenagers. They are the future of Portuguese handball, being mainstays in Paulo Pereira’s side.

But for another key player, left back Salvador Salvador,  Croatia/Denmark/Norway 2025 will be the maiden appearance at the IHF Men’s World Championship, another milestone in a career which appears to be taking off at the right time.

Only 23 years old, Salvador Salvador, or Salvador², as he presents himself in social media, tongue-in-cheek, is the captain of Sporting CP, a team which has captured the minds of fans in the EHF Champions League Men, having won against stronger sides, like Veszprem HC, the current IHF Men’s Club World Championship winners.

A strong defender, who also has a penchant for scoring goals – 39 in the current season of the European premium club competition – Salvador became more and more important and is now key in Portugal’s defence, ready to make his debut at the IHF Men’s World Championship.

“It’s exciting to be here, that is clear. I have the experience from the previous European Championship, but the World Championship is a different thing. There are more teams, more cultures, plenty of matches. We are getting ready and I think we have a very good team, a hungry team, which wants to do some great matches and some great results,” says Salvador.

“We are, of course, preparing now, but the feeling in the team is great, we are looking forward to starting to play and delivering some good performances, even if we have some difficult opponents on the way.”

A main round berth looks mandatory for Portugal, which have been there in the past two editions of the competition. But with a hungry and young team, Portugal are probably even eyeing more. Sure, their dark horse status has somewhat evaporated, as they cemented their status as one of the best teams in Europe, one which can surprise any opponent in a given day.

But their path towards the knockout phase is hardly easy. In their preliminary round group, Portugal will face the United States of America, Brazil and co-hosts Norway, facing the Scandinavian side in a packed Unity Arena in Baerum.

If they progress to the main round, three of the teams from Group F – Sweden, Spain, Japan and Chile – are waiting, therefore Portugal have a mammoth of a task to make it between the final eight sides for the first time in history at the world handball flagship competition.

“We do not have an easy group. Of course, everybody talks about playing Norway, in Norway, and that will be difficult. We lost against them in the Olympic Qualification Tournament last year, but also beat them at the EURO. Yet we have to play also against Brazil and the USA in the preliminary round and those will be hard matches,” adds Salvador.

At 23 years old, the left back will represent Portugal on the biggest of stages for the first time and this is more than a simple appearance on the court. It is also about writing a piece of history and fulfilling his part as a role model.

“I have a brother and a sister. My brother is younger than me, 10 years younger actually, but he is also playing handball. Do I feel as a role model for him? I think so, yes. I am always trying to help him develop and helping him become better. So that is also in my mind,” adds Salvador.

And indeed, Portugal have always championed the fact that handball is more than simple results. After their senior team’s emergence on the big stages, their junior side has also followed suit, finishing fourth at the 2019 IHF Men’s Junior World Championship, sixth at the 2023 IHF Men’s Junior World Championship and runners-up at the M20 EHF EURO 2022 and the M20 EHF EURO 2024.

Therefore, the future is set, as Salvador, the Costa brothers or Rema Marques are slowly emerging in the senior side, ensuring that the future looks bright and Portugal have plenty of talent at disposal to avoid missing out on major international competitions in the next decade, like they did between 2003 and 2021 at the IHF Men’s World Championship.

“I see that handball is getting more and more popular in Portugal and more and more players are emerging. That is great. Of course, it is still not as popular as other sports, I played football myself, but after my growth spurt, it was almost impossible to play it. Yet I am very happy with what I am doing and I look forward to the future,” concludes Salvador.

Credit photo: Portuguese Handball Federation