Buzzer-Beater in Lisbon Reignites Sporting’s European Handball Ambitions

The Sporting handball squad has given Lisbon a fresh reason to believe. A last-gasp 33-32 victory over Hungarian powerhouse Veszprém has dragged the leões back into the EHF Champions League conversation, erased the taste of a bruising night in Nantes and, for many Portuguese fans, signalled that the club’s European ceiling is still some way off. The two points place Sporting level with both Veszprém and Nantes in a fiercely compressed Group A, keeping direct qualification for the knock-out rounds within touching distance.

Lisbon roars back into the Champions League conversation

A capacity crowd at Pavilhão João Rocha witnessed what might already be the highlight of Sporting’s continental season. The scoreboard was locked at 32-32 when Ricardo Costa called the time-out that changed everything. In the final heartbeat, Martim Costa slipped into the nine-metre lane, accepted a razor-sharp feed from his brother Francisco “Kiko” Costa, and drilled the winner beyond Mikael Appelgren. The eruption that followed was deafening, the chorus of Sporting! echoing deep into Lisbon’s Alvalade neighbourhood.

From a purely statistical lens, the match belonged to Orri Þorkelsson. The Icelandic right-back rattled in 10 goals and bullied the Veszprém defence every time he received the ball in motion. Yet it was Kiko Costa’s nine-goal, five-assist night—and the ultimate buzzer-beater from his sibling—that tilted the narrative. Across the aisle, Egyptian playmaker Ahmed Hesham single-handedly kept the Hungarians level with a mesmerising 12-goal haul, proving why many scouts see him as the next superstar in European handball.

A night for the highlight reels

The contest opened at a break-neck tempo. Both sides spent the first quarter trading blows, slipping goals inside the near-post and turning the centre line into a revolving door. By half-time the scoreboard read 18-18, yet the flow of the match suggested Veszprém were closer to imposing their will. Early in the second half they nudged three clear, punishing turnovers from Carlos Ruesga and exploiting a brief dip in Leo Maciel’s form between the sticks.

Enter Mohamed Aly. The Egyptian-Portuguese goalkeeper, who had started the evening on the bench, produced eight saves in just 16 minutes to jolt Sporting back into rhythm. His double-stop on Petar Nenadić and Rasmus Lauge in a single sequence ignited the crowd and gifted Sporting a string of transition chances that Tomas Mladenović and Edmilson Araújo gladly converted. Momentum, at that point, had a green-and-white hue.

Tactical turnaround after the Nantes nightmare

Just seven days earlier, Sporting had been humbled 39-28 in Brittany. That rout prompted questions about whether the squad possessed enough depth to juggle domestic duties with a Champions League campaign that still has nine rounds to go. Ricardo Costa’s response was pragmatic: he reshuffled his backcourt, promoted Kiko Costa to primary shooter and demanded quicker ball circulation around the pivot.

Against Veszprém, those tweaks were visible. The wingers hugged the touchline to stretch the Hungarian 6-0 block, opening corridors for Nicolas Frankis to dart diagonally across the ‘c’ gap. Meanwhile, Edu Caro—signed from Granollers in the summer—acted as a second pivot in attack, a wrinkle that disrupted Veszprém’s defensive timing and forced Momir Ilić to burn two time-outs before the 45-minute mark. Costa’s gamble on a seven-metre keeper swap also paid off; François Xavier Chagnard slid in cold and denied Hesham with his very first touch of the ball.

What the standings really say

The victory lifts Sporting to six points after five match-days, dead even with Veszprém and HBC Nantes but trailing Aalborg on eight and group-leaders Füchse Berlin on 10. With only the top two advancing directly to the quarter-finals, Sporting still face an uphill climb. Yet the current rules mean third to sixth proceed to a play-off, a safety net that keeps the Lisbon club’s ambitions alive as long as they fend off Industria Kielce, Kolstad and Dinamo București.

Goal difference could become decisive. Sporting sit on –8, poorer than Nantes (+23) and Veszprém (+5), but a manageable deficit if the leões can reproduce Wednesday’s defensive intensity in upcoming home dates against Kolstad and Kielce. The coaching staff believe nine more points—three wins—would all but guarantee a play-off berth, while a surprise away success in Berlin or Aalborg might reopen the quest for a top-two dream.

The Portuguese reaction—and a hush from Hungary

Local media wasted no time branding the clash an “épico”. From Record to RTP Desporto, the consensus framed Sporting’s comeback as a testament to Portuguese handball’s growing depth. Analysts also praised the Pavilhão crowd, whose unified roar—fuelled in part by frustration at several borderline refereeing calls—seemed to give the players extra oxygen in the final minutes.

In Hungary, the tone was more subdued. Mainstream outlets such as Nemzeti Sport largely focused on Veszprém’s missed opportunities, especially two power-plays that produced a single goal. Momir Ilić chose not to speak publicly post-match, a silence many interpreted as tacit acknowledgment of tactical misfires. The Hungarian champions fly home facing rare back-to-back defeats in all competitions, an unfamiliar predicament for a roster teeming with international pedigree.

Why it matters beyond Alvalade

Sporting’s upset reverberates far past club rivalry. Portugal’s best handball exports—think André Gomes, Miguel Martins, Diogo Silva—have excelled abroad, but victories like Wednesday’s suggest the domestic league can now retain and develop talent capable of challenging Europe’s elite on home soil. Financially, each group-phase win is worth an estimated €45,000 in EHF prize money, funds Sporting can funnel into their academy at Casal Vistoso or toward reinforcing depth in the January window.

On a cultural note, the success arrived during a week dominated by football headlines. Handball momentarily hijacked sports cafés from Braga to Faro, reminding the country that Portugal’s competitive spirit thrives on more than the beautiful game alone. That buzz, insiders hope, will translate into higher youth registration numbers when local clubs reopen trials next month.

Looking ahead: can Sporting turn drama into consistency?

The calendar offers little respite. Sporting travel to Füchse Berlin in nine days, then host Kolstad before a potentially decisive double-header with Aalborg. Ricardo Costa acknowledged the physical toll but insisted the squad’s mindset has changed: “If we can beat Veszprém, we can beat anyone.”

Still, consistency has been the missing ingredient. The leões averaged 38 goals in their three wins but only 29 in their two defeats. A tighter rotation, continued excellence from Þorkelsson, and a stable goalkeeper partnership between Maciel and Aly may hold the key to sustaining momentum. For now, though, Lisbon is content to replay Martim Costa’s buzzer-beater on loop—a reminder that in European handball, miracles remain possible for those willing to fight until the very last second.