Portugal beat Spain to claim Roller Hockey World Cup bronze

Portugal ended the Roller Hockey World Cup on a high by beating arch-rivals Spain 5-3 to claim the bronze medal in Paraguay.

The Portuguese side had to come from behind in Sunday’s third-place playoff in Luque, eventually scoring three unanswered goals to defeat the defending world champions and secure their 16^th World Cup bronze medal.

It was also sweet revenge for Portugal, who had lost 4-2 to Spain earlier in the tournament.

Spain struck almost immediately through Marc Grau, but Gonçalo Alves responded for Portugal in the fourth minute.

Portugal then moved ahead through Rafa Bessa in the 20^th minute, only for Grau to score his second shortly before the break and send the teams into half-time level at 2-2.

Spain regained the lead in the second half following an own goal, but the advantage lasted barely a minute.

Hélder Nunes made it 3-3 in the 31^st minute before Rafa Bessa struck again three minutes later to put Portugal ahead.

Spain pushed for a way back into the game, but Gonçalo Alves sealed the 5-3 victory in the final minute, completing his own brace and Portugal’s comeback.

The result saw Portugal improve on its fourth-place finish at the 2024 World Cup in Italy and add another medal to a remarkable record that includes 16 world titles, the most recent won in 2019.

Portugal had missed out on Sunday’s final after losing 6-3 to France after extra time in the semi-finals.

France went on to complete a historic tournament later on Sunday, defeating Argentina on penalties after a 2-2 draw to become world champions for the first time.

The achievement had another Portuguese connection: France are coached by Portuguese coach Nuno Lopes, while FC Porto’s Carlo Di Benedetto converted the decisive penalty in the shootout.