Heroes of the Sea take 10-goal lead in playoff over Bosnia
• Photo: Peter Spark/Movephoto
Portugal did not disappoint expectations and overcame, in Guimarães, the fierce but inconsequential Bosnia and Herzegovina by an enlightening 29-19 in the first leg of the qualifying playoff for the final phase of the World Cup to be held in 2025.
All things considered, the national team’s advantage could have been greater, but it ends up being comfortable enough for the Portuguese armada to confidently face the showdown to be held in Eastern Europe on Sunday.
Portugal started the match with a cautious approach. Idea of manipulating the momentum of the Balkans as a whole with a view to feeling the pulse of the dynamics necessary to make a difference.
Sufficient strategy to provide a relative balance to the scorer during the initial stage, as well as giving a false sense of security to the opposing team.
Perfect trap, since Bosnia ended up not having the response capacity to deal with the acceleration that Portugal exerted until the final breath of the complementary stage.
At the end of the match, coach Paulo Jorge Pereira had no doubts in classifying the 10-goal advantage as “excellent”, as well as warning about the “emotional control” that the match to be played in Bosnia will require.
“We were competent and played an excellent match, but there is still a second game to play and the Bosnians tend to set up their tent at home”, warned the coach, ensuring that “the team is prepared to avoid problems”: “Get a 10-goal lead It’s fantastic. We often put Bosnia behind, which means we defended well. Now it’s time to prepare the details to guarantee qualification.”
Portugal did not disappoint expectations and overcame, in Guimarães, the fierce but inconsequential Bosnia and Herzegovina by an enlightening 29-19 in the first leg of the qualifying playoff for the final phase of the World Cup…
By Pedro Malacó
