Portugal - Turkey Preview

Portugal kicks off their Euro against Turkey. After a few weeks of training and preparation, the time as come to chase what slipped between our fingers in 04.
It'll be the fourth consecutive Euro for Portugal, who reaches these finals having qualified second of their Qualification group. Despite losing only one game throughout the qualifiers, Portugal dropped some important points and could not best Poland a top of the group.
Turkey also qualified second of their group, but their trajectory was a little more bumpy, nevertheless, 7 wins, 3 ties and 2 losses was enough to qualify behind defending champions Greece.

In a major tournament, a win in the opening game is almost imperative. Not only does that win put you in the driver seat, but it is also essential to get a favorable momentum going. After the final week of training, anxiety levels are well above the normal. Players are anxious to get going, for many, it's their first major competition, for others, it's meeting the expectations that have been deposited on their value. A win to start off the competition, does wonders for confidence and mental aspect of not only a player but also a team.
In Portugal's specific case, a win against Turkey sets them up in the group quite nicely, as Turkey is very capable of going into the next phase, same can't be said about the Swiss who theoretically are the weakest of the group and play the other favorites, Czech Republic. With the Czechs getting an expected win against the host nation, Portugal can't afford to fall behind as their second game will be against the Czechs, a game in which they could very well clinch a spot in the second round. By the same token, if Portugal obtains a less than favorable result against Turkey, the pressure going into the Czech Republic will be double of what it could be, but let me not get too ahead of myself, and take one game at the time.

Here's the probable Starting 11 for Portugal.



Same team as the one that started against Georgia, in their final Euro tune up.
This is theoretically the strongest line up , after the game, it could be a different story, but on paper, this is it. There are many that argue that Quaresma should be in the line up, or even Quim, but the fact is that both Ricardo and Simao are players with major competition experience and that's a plus. Bosingwa makes his debut, much because Miguel doesn't seem to be at the same level as the Chelsea right back, and Pepe will get the nod ahead of Meira and Alves. Paulo Ferreira continues to deserve Scolari's confidence on the left side of the defense. In midfield, Petit brings experience, and if there were any doubts about the Benfica defensive midfielder's form, his first half against Georgia should have put any of those doubts to rest. Moutinho brings Portugal's midfield a tremendous amount of flexibility as he can play all 3 central midfield positions. He will be in charge of Portugal's transition play, but he can very well play both Petit and Deco's role in the midfield, which adds a great dynamic to the midfield. Deco will be in the number 10 slot, as he is the only natural 10 in Portugal's 23. No surprises up front, as Ronaldo and Simao will be on the wings supporting Nuno Gomes. The Benfica forward struggled throughout the year but is notorious for his good performances in the national team.

Keys to the Game

Scoring in the first half - Scoring in the first half will help take some of the pressure off, Turkey is a resilient team and can very well try to frustrate Portugal with their defense and hope Portugal is careless coming forward. Portugal is one of the favorites and the Turks will be waiting for Portugal to take the initiative right off the bat.

Ronaldo - All eyes will be on Ronaldo to see if he can do the same for Portugal that he has done for Man U all season, to be the dominant player who will make the difference. With all the media reports of an exit to Real Madrid, it'll be interesting to see if Ronaldo shows the same focus he is known for.

Deco - The Luso-Brasilian midfielder had a rocky season at Barcelona, he is an important part of the Portuguese team and will need to present himself in good form, which will help take some of the pressure off Ronaldo. We all know what Deco is capable of doing, let's hope he shows the world he can still do it.

Bench - With the Possibility of the draw going into late in the game, Portugal's bench will be a determining factor. With the likes of Quaresma and Nani on the bench, or even Almeida. It'll be up to these players to come in and make the difference, if the game, does in fact, remains deadlock deep into the second half. Both Quaresma and Nani are looking to get the Ronaldo opposite role, their contributions off the bench can very well give them that.

Very important first game, which Portugal will have to win. They can not repeat their initial outing in Lisbon 4 years ago where they lost the opener to Greece.