The Portuguese women’s handball selector, Sandra Fernandes, today defended the construction of a competitive team, marked by “race” and the ability to “never face the fight”, at the start of the new cycle.
© Reproduction /SL Benfica
22/09/2026
by
Lusa
“ A my concern is to put a way to act with an identity more mine than properly solve some problem ", said the coach, which succeeds José António Silva, during the first stage ahead of the selection, in Maia.
Sandra Fernandes intends to make the attitude a distinctive feature of the team, considering that the will to win should accompany the technical and tactical work.
“ The head rules the legs and balls that we can put in the goal ", stressed, pointing out as priorities create a competitive selection and develop young people able to contribute to the growth of the modality.
Without immediate competition, the call allows for broadening observation and other solutions to a process that foresees a long time. Of the three players who guided the sub-18 and who called the main team, expects “race, will, potential of the future”.
After the failed clearance for the European of 2026, the technique valued the accumulated international experience and considered that Portugal lacked “a little luck” to take the next step.
“ We need to keep working and I continue to believe that our modality will bring many good surprises ", sustained.
Captain Mihaela Minciuna associated this ambition with the need to learn from the last campaign and gain regularity.
“ We need to be an increasingly competitive, more consistent team”, he said, highlighting the confidence transmitted by the new selector, although he considers it early to evaluate changes after three trainings.
The presence in the World is the ambition assumed by the captain, who warned that “the results are always a consequence of sustained evolution and daily work”, adding: “This will only be possible with daily work and with the maximum focus and commitment of everyone.”.