After defeats against Iceland (24-28) and Hungary (30-31), the Portuguese team, which was already trailing by 17-13 at half-time, lost again in a match in which they needed to win by two goals to move on to the next round.

Portugal thus misses out on a place in the top 12, two years after finishing in sixth place in the 2020 European Championship, held in Austria, Norway and Sweden, the teams best ranking ever in the competition.