Portugal

Portugal are the nearly men of football. Over the last two decades we have seen world-class talent emerge from the most westerly country in Europe. But silverware at a national level has always eluded them. The last three European Championships have seen them reach the quarters, the semis and the final but they will get no sympathy from a English writer who has witnessed them beat England at Euro 2000, Euro 2004 and the World Cup in 2006. Bias aside, Portugal have a strong team but one that it is capable of becoming the England of football, always insisting they will win but never actually doing so. The draw has not been kind to them in the last two tournaments. In South Africa they got drawn along with Brazil, Ivory Coast and North Korea. In Ukraine they face Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands. Denmark topped the qualifying group that Portugal were in, meaning the Portuguese needed to win in the play-offs against Bosnia and Herzegovina to make it to the Euros. After a tight 0-0 away, a 6-2 thrashing at home booked their place in the finals. Cristiano Ronaldo was once again the main men, scoring 7 goals in 8 games for his country. The Real Madrid striker took 41 shots on goal in his 8 games during qualifying, more than anyone else throughout the phase. On average he had an attempt on goal every 17 ½ minutes. Some would say he is greedy. The fact that he only made three assists during qualifying doesn’t help. But strikers are meant to be selfish and manager Paulo Bento knows, like Europe, exactly what to expect from this match winning footballer. Ronaldo has kept up with Messi this season helping Real overcome the Catalan masters to win La Liga, both exceptional feats. Fellow Real player Pepe will be the heart of the Portuguese defence. In midfield will be two contrasting Premier League players. Manchester United’s Nani and Chelsea’s Raul Meireles sum up Portugal perfectly. Both are gifted players, yet both have failed to hold down a regular starting place this season, Nani especially has been below par. Yet, Nani has the tricks to create chances, whereas Meireles has everything a modern midfielder needs to be an instrumental performer on the park. Helder Postiga and Joao Moutinho will also be relied upon to provide creative flair in this already attacking side. Postiga scored 5 goals in qualifying and will help to lead the line as Ronaldo goes walkabout. Moutinho will try and use his attacking instincts to provide chances for the two forwards. Sporting’s Rui Patricio will probably be the man named in goal with Benefica’s Eduardo being the understudy. This will be the first major tournament for Patricio who is only 24. This inexperience may prove a costly downfall against quality attacking forces which Denmark, Netherlands and Germany all possess in abundance. Portugal definitely have a creative team, with lots of talented individuals. However, for them to even progress out of Group B they are going to need some exceptional performances. Denmark is the easiest game of the group and yet the Danes beat Portugal in the qualifying stages. The 4-4 draw at home to Cyprus and the 1-0 loss away to Norway cost them dearly in qualifying, yet both games commenced in the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo. Without him, Portugal are mediocre. With him, they always have a chance.