Portugal wins 1st leg of the playoff and is one step away from the 2025 World Cup – Handball

João Gomes (Sporting) was called up to the national team to replace Kiko Costa, absent due to physical problems. “I have integrated myself into the group quite well. This will be my first official game for the national team, I feel happy to be here and to be able to help the team achieve qualification”, he confessed, praising the working group. “It’s special, there are many players that I have always admired, that I got used to watching on television.”

For the full-back, “it’s normal for there to be some anxiety” in his debut for the main team, but he also says he feels that “this has been a long-time wish and I hope I can live up to expectations”. “I believe that this opportunity can open the doors for me to go to the World Cup. We have many excellent right-backs, theoretically I came to replace Kiko Costa, but we can all be here. I think I can be at that stage.

Regarding this Thursday’s game, João Gomes says it is “very important” to achieve a good result in Guimarães. “In addition to wanting to win, we want to have good feelings about a good victory in the round so that we can be in a better situation for Bosnia. We will always want another goal to lead because we know that Bosnia has a new coach, who can change the way they play “.