Portugal's handball brothers Martim and Francisco 'Kiko' Costa have caused a stir with their performance against Denmark and now pose a threat to the German team in the EM main round. Portugal defeated the four-time world champion almost single-handedly, with the siblings scoring 18 goals and providing 11 assists. The match against Germany is on Thursday at 15:30.
In Herning, Portugal caused the first sensation at the Handball European Championship by defeating Denmark. The Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet headlined 'Danish handball bomb,' while the Swedish Aftonbladet spoke of a failed favorite. The Portuguese A Bola cheered: 'Monumental! Historic!' The Costa brothers, Martim (23) and Francisco 'Kiko' (20), who play for Sporting Lisbon, were the driving force with 18 goals and 11 assists. Kiko leads the preliminary round scoring list with 29 goals.
Portugal has established itself in recent years: EM sixth five years ago, EM silver for juniors in 2022 and 2024. At the 2025 World Championship, it sent Germany home in the quarterfinals and narrowly missed bronze. Handball in Portugal has made a quantum leap, aligned with football clubs like Benfica, Sporting Lisbon, and FC Porto.
Kiko's career began at age five at Colégio dos Carvalho south of Porto. At 15, he debuted for FC Porto and scored 19 goals in three games. Since 2021, the brothers have played for Sporting, with the transfer costing 230,000 euros. Their father Ricardo, with over 200 international matches, trained them. Kiko is considered the biggest talent since Nikola Karabatic and was named best junior at the 2023 World Championship. Martim was the 2022 EM top scorer.
The brothers have extended their contracts until 2030, but FC Barcelona is interested in Kiko as a successor to Dika Mem from 2027, with a transfer fee of around one million euros. Martim wants to join. For Germany, facing them on Thursday, caution is advised, not just because of the Costa brothers.
