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Portugal win third game in a row to record best-ever Men’s World Championship start

18 Jan. 2021

Portugal win third game in a row to record best-ever Men’s World Championship start

With three wins in their first three games at Egypt 2021, Portugal secured their best-ever start at an IHF Men’s World Championship, progressing to the main round at Egypt 2021 with four points.

Their latest win, 26:19, against Algeria was another display of Portuguese dominance, as Paulo Pereira’s side will be one of the teams to beat in the competition.

GROUP F
Portugal vs Algeria 26:19 (14:9)

Prior to the throw off at Egypt 2021, Portugal had only won seven of their 18 games at IHF Men’s World Championships.

With their 26:19 win against Algeria on Monday they had already improved by nearly 50 per cent of that tally, securing their third win in a row and winning Group F at Egypt 2021.

Algeria led only once, after scoring the first two goals in the game, but Portugal had learned their lesson in the game against Morocco, when they went down five goals early.

It soon became a battle between the Portuguese side and Tunisian back Messaoud Berkous. At his fifth participation in the IHF Men’s World Championship, Berkous excelled in the first half.

Scoring only five goals in the first two games, the 31-year-old left back had six of Algeria’s seven goals in the first seven minutes, as Portugal boasted a one-goal lead, 8:7.

In the next 13 minutes, though, Algeria only scored twice, with their shooting efficiency dipping to 45 per cent. Portugal duly took advantage, as right wing Pedro Portela scored his four goals in this run.

A five-goal advantage at the break, 14:9, looked to be enough for Portugal, especially as the lead grew bigger after 40 minutes (20:14).

For a moment, with their defence amped up to the maximum, it looked like Algeria got something going, preventing Portugal to score between the 40th and 46th minute, to cut the gap to three goals, thanks to an unanswered 3:0 run.

However, Portugal’s experience and depth were once again on display, with 43-year-old goalkeeper Humberto Gomes saving two consecutive one-on-one shots to stop Algeria’s momentum.

Eventually, Portugal secured an important seven-goal win but most importantly managed to give key players a rest before the start of the main round, where they will meet France and two teams out of Norway, Austria and Switzerland.

Portugal will start Group III of the main round with four points after beating all their opponents in Group F of the preliminary round.

On the other hand, Algeria would progress to the next phase provided Morocco do not beat Iceland in the last game of the group, but would start on zero points after their losses against Iceland and Portugal.

hummel Player of the Match: Messaoud Berkous, Algeria