The Portuguese kayak polo team closed out their European Championship journey in Avranches, France, landing in eighth place. It was a challenging finish for the squad, a canoeing discipline, as they ultimately lost 6-2 to Great Britain in their final match.
Their hopes for a top-tier finish were dashed earlier in the quarter-finals. They put up a strong fight against Switzerland, but lost a nail-biter 3-2 in extra time. That close call meant they wouldn’t advance to the semi-finals. This pushed them into a different set of games, competing for fifth through eighth places instead.
On Saturday, the team faced another tough match against Denmark. Once again, the game went into extra time, and Portugal suffered another narrow 3-2 defeat. These two extra-time losses were particularly hard to swallow. The result meant they would compete for seventh and eighth place on the final day.
By Sunday, for their last European Championship clash, the Portuguese side seemed to run out of steam. They couldn’t quite find the answers against Great Britain, leading to the 6-2 loss. This result confirmed their eighth-place standing for the tournament. Meanwhile, the men’s Under-21 team also wrapped up their competition on Saturday, finishing in 15th place in their category.