Teenage sensation Costa "lives the dream" with Portugal
28 Jan. 2025
When a rising star emerges in handball, everyone wants to know more about them. Suddenly, every movement is analysed. Every taken shot gets scrutinised. Mistakes are made, of course. Highlight reels are posted on social media. But as a teenager, Francisco Costa has strongly announced himself early on the biggest of stages and now confirms his potential at the 2025 IHF Men’s World Championship.
Costa has made his debut in a major international competition two years ago, at the 2023 IHF Men’s World Championship. At that time, he was still 17 years old, but was the top scorer of the M20 EHF EURO 2022, arguably higlighting his huge potential in the junior continental competition.
He scored only 17 goals, from 26 shots, and was not necessarily an instrumental player back then. He was just getting to grips with the national team at such a level, but coach Paulo Pereira knew he had a thin-cut diamond on his hands.
“Yes, that competition was excellent for me, in terms of getting to grips with playing at this level, against some of the best teams in the world. I have learnt a lot, I felt like I understood what was happening and it helped me develop in some ways,” says Costa.
“Now, it is a bit different, with more experience, probably more expectations, but with a lot of hunger to play and to deliver.”
His performances speak for themselves. While being touted as the next best thing in world handball, Costa had three seasons to cut his teeth in the EHF European League Men, the second-tier European club competition, where he scored 61, 97 and 73 goals respectively for Sporting CP.
Then, this season, he is a big part of the Portuguese side which has delivered some fantastic performances in the EHF Champions League Men, where Sporting have been a team to watch, a dark horse which can produce huge shocks, like the win against Veszprem HC, the 2024 IHF Men’s Club World Championship winners.
Now, Costa has really grown of age at the 2025 IHF Men’s World Championship, where he has taken a leading role for Portugal, becoming the fulcrum of the European side’s attack, alongside his older brother, Martim, the joint top scorer of the EHF EURO 2024.
Francisco – widely known by his nickname, Kiko – has spearheaded Portugal’s historic campaign, scoring 36 goals from 45 shots, for an outstanding 75% shooting efficiency throughout the preliminary round and main round, adding 15 assists, on his way to a nomination to the “Best Young Player Presented by Lidl” at the 2025 IHF Men’s World Championship, which will be awarded to the top player aged under 21 years old.
But how does Costa stay on the ground with such a hype surrounding him?
“I have a great team around me, which manages to help me develop. I have always tried to stay with my feet on the ground and handball is a team sport, you cannot do anything without my teammates. In the national team, it is different, because we represent Portugal and we give it our all, every time. We are a fantastic group together and we aim even higher,” adds Costa.
The team is, of course, Portugal’s staff and its players, but at club level, Francisco has been coached since his early childhood by his father, Ricardo.
This fantastic group has delivered some pitch perfect performances at Croatia/Denmark/Norway 2025, lifting Portugal to their best-ever start in the competition, with five wins and a draw, entering the quarter-finals unbeaten, one of the three teams being able to brag about such a performance, alongside Denmark and France.
They won against co-hosts Norway, they also dominated Spain and salvaged a high-octane draw against Sweden, 37:37, to reach this point, where they have the biggest battle yet, probably their most important match in history.
Win that, and Portugal are in with a chance for a medal. Lose and they are going home, but everybody will remember this campaign and it is one which can be a huge stepping stone, as a young core can deliver better and better performances in the future.
“This is a dream, to be honest. A few years ago, we were not even qualifying for major international events. Now we are between the top eight teams in the world. It is a dream and I am thankful to all those around us, my teammates, the staff, for helping and creating the perfect environment to perform at such a high level,” adds Costa.
Against Germany, Portugal might be just slight underdogs, just because of the experience and the depth their opponents have. But Portugal will certainly be no pushovers and it will likely go down to the wire, just as the first two quarter-finals at this edition of the IHF Men’s World Championship went, with Croatia and France securing last-second wins.
“But this is why we are here for, no? To live the dream. To hope that we improve, to hope that we can win matches like this,” says Costa, who at 19 years old has already seen plenty on the court.
The two Costa brothers, Francisco and Martim, who are Portugal’s top scorers, with 68 goals between them, have been getting all the plaudits for the great performances in the Unity Arena in Baerum, but playing together, they developed a fantastic bond on the court, usually finding themselves with ease in the back line and creating opportunities for each other.
But only Francisco’s excellent performances have seen the right back – who started playing as a right wing – nominated for the “Best Young Player Presented by Lidl” alongside six other players.
Costa is humble and does not like to talk a lot about himself, rather than emphasise the importance of players emerging on the big stage and create new memories, new fantastic plays and improving handball.
“You have the two Cikusa brothers there, you have also Ian Barrufet, they are all very good players. I would not consider myself a star right now, I think I have to still play a lot. But, once again, the most important thing is to play for the team, to help the team extend this dream and everything else will come,” concludes Costa.