Euro 2008 team profile: Portugal
Portugal profile
2004 was supposed to be their coronation as a major footballing force, yet the final defeat to Greece in front of their own fans must surely still hurt the Portuguese players. Four years on the squad is similarly talented, yet Cristiano Ronaldo has morphed from crybaby to assassin, and if he keeps up this year's form Portugal will be feared by all.
A draw in the final match at home to Finland was enough to qualify in second place behind the Poles, and take 'Big Phil' Scolari to another major finals. He will leave the job at the tournament's end, and anything less than victory will be classed as failure. As usual, the lack of a decent striker threatens to spoil the party.
EURO 2008 GROUP A: CZECH REPUBLIC - PORTUGAL - SWITZERLAND - TURKEY
Coach:Luiz Felipe Scolari
Goalkeepers:
Ricardo (Real Betis Balompié)
Quim (SL Benfica)
Rui Patrício (Sporting Clube de Portugal) | Defenders:
Paulo Ferreira (Chelsea FC)
Ricardo Carvalho (Chelsea FC)
Bosingwa (FC Porto)
Bruno Alves (FC Porto)
Jorge Ribeiro (Boavista FC)
Miguel (Valencia CF)
Fernando Meira (VfB Stuttgart)
Pepe (Real Madrid CF) | Midfielders:
Petit (SL Benfica)
Deco (FC Barcelona)
Raul Meireles (FC Porto)
Miguel Veloso (Sporting Clube de Portugal)
João Moutinho (Sporting Clube de Portugal) | Forwards:
Nuno Gomes (SL Benfica)
Simão Sabrosa (Club Atlético de Madrid)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United FC)
Nani (Manchester United FC)
Hugo Almeida (Werder Bremen)
Ricardo Quaresma (FC Porto)
Hélder Postiga (Panathinaikos FC) |
Qualifying Group A |
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| Poland | 14 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 24 | 12 | 28 | | Portugal | 14 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 24 | 10 | 27 | | | Serbia | 14 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 22 | 11 | 24 | | Finland | 14 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 13 | 7 | 24 | | Belgium | 14 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 14 | 16 | 18 | | Kazakhstan | 14 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 11 | 21 | 10 | | Armenia | 12 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 13 | 9 | | Azerbaijan | 12 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 6 | 28 | 5 |
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