Kiko Costa's game: "When I become a defensive player, I will give back all the hits I take"

Needless to say, Kiko Costa already has some good ground to build upon. Impressive one-versus-one ability, as well as a talent for shooting from distance has already seen him become one of the biggest attacking talents in the sport, despite his young age.

"I like to do all of it, there is nothing else I like better," he explains. "The one-versus-one is something I was already doing when I was younger, and that I got better at as time went by."

In his mind, Costa thinks that a great of the game must be doing the simple things perfectly in order to make an impact on the court: "But they are the toughest ones to get right, I think", he smiles, before adding : "The best players in handball do the simple things, but perfectly. Take Gisli Kristjansson, he can do one-versus-one, play with the line player and shoot while running perfectly. This might look kind of simple, but trust me, this is not."

But now comes the defensive topic; an area of the game that, to his own admission, Costa "does not like". But the Portuguese right back also knows that in order to be among the best, he needs to get better at it.

"I don’t think I need to change anything in my game to be able to do it, but I need to train and train and train again. In my opinion, everyone can shoot. Not everyone can score, but everyone can shoot. But not everyone can defend."

Being able to play in defence might offer Kiko another opportunity: the chance to give back as good as he gets when attacking! "When I become a defensive player, I will do the same things to my opponents than they do to me. I take a lot of hits and I hope I can give some back someday," he says.

But can it sometimes be tiring, being at the centre of the defenders' attention and having a target on your back? "No, because I like it. I am not scared of physical contact, I know my style of play is made of it," Costa answers, before revealing the secret: "It takes a lot of work in the gym to be ready to take these hits at every game."

Talking about the mental side of the game, despite his young age, Costa has never been afraid of taking responsibility. If a game is tight and the score will be decided in the final moments, you can bet that Kiko Costa will be involved in the situation, one way or the other.

"But it does not mean I want to take the responsibility for the sake of doing it. I am only trying to find the best way to help the team. I love pressure, and I love responsibilities, I am not scared of it," he insists.

This comes with the description that Costa gives of himself on the court. While the adjectives "quick" and "persevering" come out of his mouth, he also says about himself that he, above all, "wants to help his team win games. I want to help my teammates, I want us, as a team, to find the best solution to score a goal every time."

But in the final minutes of a tight game, what goes on inside his head? "A lot of things!" he smiles, before adding: "I think of all the options, who is on the court, who is not. Do I need to shoot? Do I need to pass? Do I need to just stand back?" But one thing is for certain, he won’t shy away from stepping into the spotlight to help Sporting or Portugal win a game.

"When I was a young player, a couple of years ago, I just did not think. I would go into a game, trying to have fun no matter what. These days things are a little bit different," he says. While the fun is certainly still present for Martim Costa’s younger brother, he has grown to know the importance of the key moments in important games: "I know that if I miss, we will lose the game, so I have to make the right action in the right situation."

This experience comes partly from the fact that, over the past four years, Kiko Costa and Sporting have missed out on EHF Finals and the EHF FINAL4 by just one goal each time. "It was frustrating and, of course, I used it to be an even better player," he says, as Sporting's most recent near miss was the flight to Cologne in 2025/26 following a one-goal loss to Aalborg Håndbold.

And while he is already near the top, Kiko Costa wants to keep growing to finally be "the best player in the world," what he claims is his final goal. "I have to train 200 per cent every day and I am sure that if I do, I can be at the top. I am still a young player but I don’t want to wait too long."

Photos © Peka Roland / One Veszprém; Orlen Wisla Plock; joaomorais