Goís: We struggled for so long to reach a final phase

Goalkeeper Isabel Goís is one of Portugal’s longest serving players, counting the second highest number of caps in the side and having made her national team debut in the World Championship qualification play-offs in 2012. Goís participated in five qualification phases aiming to reach the final EHF EURO tournament before the long-awaited success in securing a place at the 2024 edition — first over 10 years ago, on the path to the 2014 event.

“We struggled for so long to be able to reach a final phase. Every time, we would fight so hard and believe until the end it was possible. So now that we really made it here, we just want to enjoy and absorb the entire experience, always with the goal of giving our best,” says Goís.

Portugal made it to the EHF EURO 2024 as one of the best third-ranked teams in the qualifiers, securing their place thanks to two dominant wins against Finland and close defeats to Czechia. Because of that, Portugal could see the possibility of securing a place at the final tournament as the qualifiers neared the end, but it was only confirmed once the phase had completely finished and they knew how they measured up against the other third-ranked teams across the eight qualification groups.

“It was crazy. We were all so excited,” says Goís, reflecting on that moment. “We celebrated so much. We just knew we had to continue with the hard work we’d been doing.”

Portugal started their EHF EURO 2024 venture against Spain, opening the action for group C in Basel on Thursday evening. Although the final score showed a 24:30 defeat, the result was not reflective of the great performance from the side, as they were in front through most of the first 40 minutes and were only two goals behind in the 53rd minute — still very much in with a chance for victory.

“I think we played some good handball. We just need more stability to manage better some ball possessions, and the result could have been entirely different. Despite that, I am proud of what we showed yesterday,” says Goís, who was joint-second for most saves across the entire EHF EURO 2024 at the end of day one. The 29-year-old stopped 11 shots and was particularly key as Portugal turned an early 0:2 deficit into a 6:3 advantage, with five saves in just five minutes, including a penalty.

Aside from the handball-specific side, the first game at a major championship is an experience in itself. 

“I was so excited, but also quite nervous before the game. I think those moments have to be well managed emotionally because you start to notice the entire atmosphere, and you begin to think about a million things before you go on the court. But for me, when I go inside it all disappears and it’s just so much fun,” says Goís.

Against Spain, Goís and Portugal had one more experience unique to matches at this level — the use of the video replay technology. In the 11th minute, with Portugal up 4:2, the referees called for a check of whether the ball had fully crossed the goal line off a shot from Spain right wing Anne Erauskin. The shot was ruled no goal by a matter of millimetres, and when the call came, Goís received an especially loud cheer from the audience for the super save and effort.

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“The truth is that in any normal game without VAR they would have given the goal to Spain, so I had my doubts. But when the referees went to check the replay, I was praying to the universe that just a little bit of the ball would not have crossed the line,” says Goís. “When they decided that it wasn’t a goal, I was so happy and relieved that I just wanted to celebrate with the girls.”

Having proven they are certainly able to be competitive at the EURO, Portugal now look ahead to their next match, against Poland, taking place on Saturday. Poland were also defeated in their opener, 22:35 by France.

“Poland is an experienced team with good long-distance shooters. We are aware that we have a hard task in our hands, so we have to prepare well for the game. We hope to show our best for the whole 60 minutes tomorrow,” concludes Goís. 

Photos © EHF/kolektiff