In a highly dramatic World Championship semifinal that had it all, it was Portugal who came out on top. Portugal won 31–30 after extra time, thanks to a late decisive goal from Martim Costa. Denmark awaits in the semifinal.
This was Portugal’s first-ever quarterfinal in a championship, and the question beforehand was how the goalkeeper battle would unfold. Germany, with one of the best goalkeeper duos in the tournament, against a Portugal team with uncertainties between the posts. How did it look? Two goalkeepers, Andreas Wolff and Diogo Marques, who both excelled in the first half.
Wolff had five saves in the first five minutes of the match, and one might have thought that Germany was leading. The score was 4–1. To Portugal! However, Portugal played much better than a Germany where Wolff was far too alone in delivering a performance.
Apart from a brief period, the first half was Portugal’s. Better attacking play, more speed, better defense than they had ever played, and a goalkeeping performance where Marques finished with a 46% save rate in the first half. The halftime score was 13–9 to Portugal, who played fantastic handball, while there was still much more expected from Germany.
Improved Germany in the second half
The question heading into the second half was whether Portugal could replicate the same level of performance. They couldn’t. The defense didn’t hold up at the same level, and in attack, they got stuck in phases. Furthermore, Wolff was even better in the second half. It didn’t get any easier when key player Luis Frade received a red card just a few minutes into the second half, after hitting Renärs Uscins with his arm a bit too high. A tough situation for Portugal, as Frade is incredibly versatile. When Frade was sent off, Germany began to find Johannes Golla inside the line, something they hadn’t done a single time in the first half.
With 15 minutes remaining, Lukas Zerbe equalized to 18–18, and when Rui Silva was sent off and the coach followed shortly after with another suspension, things started to look grim for Portugal. Especially when Zerbe gave Germany their first lead of the match. Also: Juri Knorr had his by far best half during the World Championship and a big reason for the German’s turnaround.
Wolff continued to play brilliantly, but Portugal didn’t give up. When Germany also received two yellow cards in quick succession, Germany’s lead disappeared. Gustavo Capdeville showed that there was room for another impressive goalkeeper performance, which made the closing moments of the match incredibly dramatic.
With 52 seconds remaining, the score was 26–25 in favor of Germany. The drama didn’t lessen when Kiko Costa (Portugals best player), with 52 seconds left on the clock, earned a two-minute suspension for Julian Köster, Germany’s incredibly important two-way player. And Pedro Portela equalized with 24 seconds remaining. However, Germany had a chance to win, but they couldn’t get a shot off, and overtime awaited.
Martim Costa – big hero for Portugal
Martim Costa was the standout player of the first overtime period. During regular time, the older Costa contributed with just one goal – but here, he scored two goals in a few minutes, and Portugal led 29–28 after the first five minutes.
Germany then had the chance to take the lead again at 30–29 with less than two minutes remaining. But Uscins’ shot was blocked, and Portugal instead took the lead at 30–29 with 50 seconds left. Lukas Mertens kept his composure when he equalized with 25 seconds remaining, but the final word went to Martim Costa, who scored the decisive goal for 31–30 with just a few seconds left on the clock.
As a result, Portugal will play in a historic semifinal, and the feeling was that they were the better team – Germany relied heavily on Andreas Wolff, who made 21 saves in the match.