16:08 | Halftime
Slovenia 17:18 Portugal
Antonio Areia gave Portugal the lead with a quick break just before the buzzer, and this high-scoring game got heated! Both teams have their good and bad points, and the team that can limit their mistakes in the second half will definitely emerge victorious in the end.
Martim Costa plays exclusively in attack, scoring 7 goals in 7 attempts within 12 minutes on the court. Bort Makovsek is Slovenia’s top scorer with four goals. The goalkeepers had a tough day, with Gustavo Capdevil having the best performance with 5 saves (22%).
16:03
This gave Slovenia a 16:15 lead. A mistake by Martim Costa resulted in a turnover and Domen Novak scored on a fast break, but Francisco Costa responded 11 seconds later to close the gap to one. The speed of this game is amazing.
15:57
Slovenia’s goal change worked wonders and they were level again! Clemen Ferlin allowed two shots and made one save, but Portugal’s mistakes gave Slovenia a sudden boost of confidence. It’s 12:12.
15:54
After a good performance after the timeout, Portugal took a 12-8 lead. They waste no time at all on counterattacks and Slovenia are struggling with this pace.
15:46
Gustavo Capdevile got off to a great start and Portugal led 8-6 so far, helped by good attacking performances from Pedro Portela and Martim Costa.
15:42
Portugal are known for their fast play, but Slovenia took advantage of this and attacked at the same tempo, making things tough for the ‘Heroes of the Sea’. Everything is ready in 11 minutes.
15:35
For most of this tournament, Portugal and Slovenia’s starting goalkeepers were Diogo Marquez and Klemen Ferlin, but today they will be Gustavo Capdevile and Urban Rejac. A single save from Cap Deville gave Portugal a 3-2 lead.
15:30
Will Slovenia be able to bounce back from their loss to Sweden, or will Portugal continue to win? We found out when they escaped!
15:15
One of the notable milestones in this match is that Slovenian captain Jure Drenec is just five goals away from reaching his 100th EHF EURO goal. Unfortunately for Slovenia, they are without Blaz Blagotinsek due to illness.
Watch the match here: Slovenia vs Portugal
15:00
Back from the break and preparing for the first match of the day, Slovenia vs. Portugal – starting in 30 minutes.
The two sides have met three times in the EHF EURO so far, with Slovenia winning twice, including a 29-24 victory in the 2020 main draw.
13:50
Aleks Vula attracted attention last season as RK Celje Pivovarna Lasko’s top scorer in the group phase of the Machine Seeker EHF Champions League. This performance led to him being transferred to Denmark and Aalborg.
The 26-year-old centre-back, who is currently making his EHF EURO debut, lost to Sweden in the first match of the main tournament, but he has had another good tournament, recording three wins in the qualifying round and scoring the highest score for the Slovenia national team. .
Slovenia face Portugal again tonight, but Vula are ready to run for another win and increase their points in the main draw.