After she was named Portugal's best player, she surprised by speaking in Romanian: “It's the joy of my “good guys””
Article by David Istrate – Published on Thursday, 20 November 2025 21:19 / Updated on Thursday, 20 November 2025 21:31
Portugal suffered a drastic defeat against Romania at the start of the Carpathian Trophy. The Portuguese lost 28-40but the best player of the guests was Mihaela Minciună (26 years old), a handball player from the Republic of Moldova.
The Romanian women's handball team showed a lot of desire to play on Thursday, November 20, in the TeraPlast Arena in Bistrița. Ovidiu Mihăilă's students dominated their opponents from Portugal and, without pressing the accelerator pedal, won 40-28.
Originally from the Republic of Moldova, Mihaela Minciună contributed to 7 of Portugal's 28 goals
The guests tried, in the first half, to build the game around To Luciana Rebelo, athlete who performed for Team Esbjerghowever, after the 2-minute elimination she received at the end of the first sequence, the Portugal coach changed the strategy.
In the second half, Mihaela Minciună, a handball player with dual citizenship, Portuguese and Moldovan, impressed. The 26-year-old finished with 4 goals and 3 assists, contributing to 25% of Portugal's successes.
As a result, Minciună was declared the best handball player of the match for the visiting team. After the end of the game, the athlete born in Corjova, Republic of Moldova, came in front of the journalists and expressed her disappointment with the performance shown by her and her colleagues, stating that she could have played better.
Lie spoke in Romanian and had a strong Moldavian accent. Asked how she knows the Romanian language so well, the handball player answered with great emotion:
“I was born in Moldova. It is the joy of my “good ones”, 2 I have already lost, they are my stars that guard me in the sky. But the others are still alive, they are in Moldova and wherever I go I will show everyone that I play for the Portuguese national team, but I was born in Moldova.”
Mihaela Minciună was born in the Republic of Moldova, but grew up in Portugal. According to the archives of the Portuguese Handball Federation, she has been with a junior team in Portugal since the 2007-2008 season, when she was only 8 years old.
Currently, Minciuna plays for Benfica Lisbon, the famous group from the country's capital.
“For us, the goal now is to win the other 2 matches. How to be, we have to earn them“, Portugal's handball player concluded the interview. The national team from Western Europe will play Austria on Saturday and the Czech Republic on Sunday.
Mihaela Minciună, in front of the journalists in TeraPlast Arena/Photo: David Istrate (GSP.ro)
