Amorim en route to South Africa

As a result of Nani's clavicle injury, Ruben Amorim has been called by Queiroz to sub the Man U winger. Shame for Nani that he couldn't be part of this team, unlucky for him.
Amorim might not be a true replacement for Nani, but his versatility, and his way to play the game are naturally an asset to this team.
Amorim will join the team on Wednesday, where he will start a specific program to be at the same level as the the rest of the team.

As for Nani, apparently the injury happened in Portugal before the team left to S.A., in an apparent bad fall following an acrobatic kick. National team physios and Queiroz made the decision to bring Nani, but decided that the winger could not give his contribute. '

-END-

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Psssssssst.........

Dear Professor
There's currently a Portuguese left back starting in one of the big three teams in Portugal. For some reason he wasn't included on your list that made the trip to Brasil.
I'm enclosing a picture...


-END-

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A Picture's worth 1,000 words

Photo - Paulo Duarte AP

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Euro 08

As I write this, 5 days, 14 hours separate us from the start of Euro 08. If your are a fan of futebol, like me, then this is the event of the summer, this is the event we have been waiting for since July of 06.
In 06, Portugal equaled their greatest mark in a world tournament, when they came in 4th, but the team left us all with the feeling that they could have very well have surpassed the 1966 mark set by Eusebio and company.


Since the 06 World Cup, Portugal has gone through some major changes, and is clearly a team in a transition phase, almost half the players will make their major competition debut, they are: Moutinho, Meireles, Bruno Alves, Veloso, Quaresma, Nani, Bosingwa, Jorge Ribeiro, Pepe and Rui Patricio.

Here's a look at the chosen 23 by Scolari:


Ricardo
32
Club: Betis

Ricardo has been Scolari's choice for #1, ever since the Brazilian took over the national team. He brings experience, and despite not having the best of years at Betis this year, amidst injuries and falling out of favor with Hector Cuper, Ricardo will most likely be in goal when Portugal kicks off against Turkey, this coming Saturday. Who can forget the 3 penalties he saved against England, which included the famous bare hands save.
On top of his game, Ricardo can be one of the best keepers in the competition, but he can also be spotty at times.





Quim
32
Club: Benfica

Quim makes his 3rd consecutive major competition roster, and comes into the Portuguese camp as the keeper in the best form of the 3. He had a career year at Benfica this year, and one can argue(myself included) that he could very well be worthy of the #1 spot, but it'll be highly unlikely. His second half start against Georgia was a bit of a surprise, perhaps a message from Scolari.
Unless Ricardo has a poor showing in the first couple of games, it'll be hard for Quim to be in between the posts for any of the games, shame really.






Rui Patricio
20
Club: Sporting

Patricio is Scolari's 3rd choice for keeper, he is seen as the future generation, and as it is usual from Scolari to call a young keeper as the 3rd keeper(Moreira 04, Bruno Vale 08- was later substituted by Paulo Santos because of an injury). Patricio is going along for the experience of being involved in a major competition and also for the learning experience that can be very valuable for the future of this talented young keeper. He had an up and down year, but Paulo Bento stuck with him, and he showed how much he matured.






Paulo Ferreira
29
Club: Chelsea

Paulo Ferreira also comes into his 3rd consecutive major competition, despite losing his starting job in Euro 04, due to a bad first game performance, Ferreira has endured the years and has remained consistent throughout. He comes into the squad as the prime candidate for the left back position, despite being a natural right back. It is that flexibility and his consistent performances that Scolari admires, he plays simple and despite not being the fastest of defenders, his positioning and quick game reads make him a valuable player to the squad.





Bruno Alves
26
Club: Porto

Alves makes his debut in major competitions, despite some of his rough house tactics, he is a dominating force in the center of the defense. He has in is aerial game his best weapon.
Despite being used with some frequency in some of the qualifiers, he will most likely be on the bench at the start of the tournament, but that can very well change as the tournament goes on. He is dangerous on set pieces and is coming off a good year, which should give him very high levels of confidence.






Bosingwa
25
Club: Chelsea(Porto)

Undoubtedly the best right back of the Bwin, Bosingwa made his national team debut during the qualifying stages, and hasn't lost the right back position since, taking advantage of Miguel's mid-season injury.
Bosingwa was born in the Congo Republic, but has been in Portugal since a young child. Fast, athletic and tireless are some of the qualities which have made him flourish in the past 3 years. He has just been transferred to Chelsea for a reported 30mm, no doubt one of the players to watch. He is one of the players that will make the difference offensively coming out of the back.






Fernando Meira
30
Club: Stuttgart

It'll be the 3rd major competition for Meira, who was an important player for Portugal during the 06 WC, grabbing the starting job after Andrade went down to injury, he played every single minute of the 06 WC.
He will probably not start but he is Scolari's first choice off the bench for the center of the defense. His knowledge of Carvalho's ways make him a serious candidate to replace Pepe. He can also play defensive mid if need be, and he is perfect to bring in at the end of the game as the 5th defender. Strong in the air, and experienced.





Miguel
28
Club: Valencia

Miguel will be playing in his 3rd major competition, and just like in Euro 04 he will most likely be watching from the bench. He has been the national team's right back since he substituted Paulo Ferreira in Euro 04 after the first game, losing his spot only due to injury. He has serious competition from Bosingwa, and from the looks of things, Bosingwa might be starting. Miguel came into camp with some physical limitations as he had just recovered from an injury, and Bosingwa seems to have an edge. He shares Bosingwa's attacking characteristics but the defending edge has to go to the Chelsea man.
Nevertheless, a great option to have for Scolari.




Jorge Ribeiro
27
Club: Boavista

Jorge Ribeiro makes his debut in an international competition, both on a national team level and at a club level. Along with Veloso, He is the national team's only natural left footed player. After a great year at Boavista he comes into camp as an alternative to the left back position, he can also play in the defensive midfield slot, which is where he played all season for Boavista.
Could be a great alternative for Paulo Ferreira, but not having played left back all season, will he be able to answer the call?






Pepe
25
Club: Real Madrid

Born in Brazil but naturalized Portuguese in 07, Pepe will be making his debut for Portugal in a major competition. He was called by Scolari in the final stages of qualifying and seems to have won a place in Scolari's nucleus. Everything points for Pepe to be along side Carvalho, when Portugal takes the field against Turkey.
He is quick and strong in the air, and despite not having many minutes under his belt along side Carvalho he seems the ideal complement to Carvalho. With him and Carvalho at the top of their game, it'll be very hard to beat Portugal's defense.





Ricardo Carvalho
30
Club: Chelsea

Carvalho first burst on the scene after Scolari's line up shuffle in Euro 04 after the first game against Greece. He replaced Fernando Couto in the line up and never looked back since then. He has been, hands down, the best Portuguese central defender of the past 4 years. His hard nose "sticking" combined with fitness, make him a world class player, and perhaps one of the best in the world at his position. He comes into the Euro after a disappointing loss in the CL, but at the top of his game.
Andrade, Meira and now Pepe, names change but when it's all said and done there's only one that has been a permanent fixture in the center of the defense, that man is Carvalho.



Raul Meireles
25
Club: Porto

Meireles is another debutant in major tournaments. He has been an instrumental part in Porto's success for the past 2 years and has really flourished as a player.
Meireles comes into the national team as a box to box midfielder who's best qualities are his quick transition game and his long range shot. He lacks experience and will most likely be on the bench, but the talent he brings to the team should not be overlooked.
His minutes will be limited, but the most important thing will be the experience, as he will definitely be a talent for the future and certainly a fixture on the 11 that will try to qualify for WC 2010.




Petit
32
Club: Benfica

Petit comes into his 4th consecutive major competition. He his by far the face of experience of this national team.
Petit had his worst season for Benfica this year, plagued by injuries and not being able to achieve any type of consistent playing, Petit struggled. Many questioned his call by Scolari, but a man with Petit's experience is a valuable asset to the national team's midfield. Having played in WC02, EC04 and WC08 Petit knows very well what it takes to be successful. His level of experience, is an important factor for Portugal's success. Scolari had expressed that Petit will be 100% and ready to go, and judging by his performance this past Saturday, Scolari was right on.



Joao Moutinho
21
Club: Sporting

Not enough can be said about Moutinho and his efforts.
He has been Mr Endurance for Sporting, year in and year out, he has logged more minutes than any other player in the Sporting roster. What makes Moutinho such a great player is the fact that he is able to do it on a consistent level, game in game out, you can expect the same solid performance from Moutinho.
After his performance against Georgia, he will be sure to be in the starting line up against Turkey. He not only defends well, he also is a great organizer and transition player, contributing at both ends of the field. All eyes will be on Ronaldo, but it'll be this man who will be getting down and dirty.



Miguel Veloso
21
Club: Sporting

Another product of the Sporting Academy, Veloso comes into the national team camp, much because of his performances this year. He also offers Scolari, the flexibility of being able to play left back, center back and defensive midfield, with the last one being where he is most comfortable with. Veloso who has been a staple in the "U" teams, makes his debut in a major tournament. Although he lacks the experience of Petit, he can very well take over the position as he has shown enough maturity at the club level to play in big games.






Deco
30
Club: Barcelona


Portugal's creativity will fall on this man's shoulders. Having had a bad year at Barcelona, Deco's form is probably the biggest question mark for Portugal. No one really knows how Deco will do, he has yet to be the dominant player he is capable of being, showing only flashes of what he is capable of doing. With the eminent exit from Barcelona that the end of this summer we can very well see Deco trying to prove that he can still be the player he once was. He is an instrumental player for Portugal, if Portugal is to have any aspirations to make it far in this tournament.




Cristiano Ronaldo
23
Club: Manchester United

Coming off the best season of his career, where he helped Man U win both PL and CL titles, tallying an impressive 42 goals in all competitions. Ronaldo is Portugal's golden boy. Well ahead of the Ronaldo we saw 2 years ago, Ronaldo is expected to do great things for Portugal. All eyes will be on Ronaldo, no stranger to pressure and attention, Ronaldo has the mental capacity to overcome this pressure. The biggest concern is physical form, after a long marathon season, how is Ronaldo physically? Sure he is 23 and the energizer bunny has nothing on him, but that remains to be seen. What also remains to be seen is the dominating Ronaldo we see every weekend. Ronaldo has yet to carry that level of dominance into the national team.


Hugo Almeida
24
Club: Werder Bremen


The only true pure center forward in the Portugal squad. Almeida also makes his debut in a major competition. Playing his club ball at Werder bremen, Almeida is no stranger to high level competition, although at his young age he still lacks the experience to take him to the next level. He had a good year in Germany, but will not be breaking into the starting 11.
Scolari's system clearly favors only one mobile forward, and that is not one of Hugo's dominant traits. As Scolari changes into a 2 forward system, Almeida can be very well be the chosen one.




Simao
28
Club: Atletico Madrid

Simao makes his 3rd consecutive appearance in a major competition for Portugal. Having transferred to Atletico Madrid from Benfica over the summer, Simao came into camp healthy and showing good form. While his first month's in Spain were rough, Simao hit full stride in the middle of the year and finished the year strong, despite battling some injuries. Along with Ronaldo, he will be the winger trying to create mismatches in the opponents defensive third. With much of the attention turned to Ronaldo, Simao will have to be effective, not to mention that Quaresma and Nani will be looking for a chance and will be more than happy to seize it.




Quaresma
24
Club: Porto


Quaresma has told the media that he will leave his mark on this competition. It'll be his first major competition, after being snubbed out of the 06 WC, Quaresma as yet to assert himself in the national team, and will most likely start out on the bench. With Simao as his major competition for the wing position, Quaresma will be lurking for an opportunity, and when that opportunity comes, he will have to prove he deserves to start, something that as yet to happen, as his performances in qualifying were spotty at best. Nevertheless he is there and it's his opportunity to waste.




Nani
21
Club: Manchester United


Another debutant to major competitions, Nani comes into this competition full of confidence, after having a great first year with Man U, Nani will look to carry on his club performances to the national team. He knows he has tough competition for the spot, and will most likely start on the bench, but just like Quaresma, needs to be ready to seize the opportunity. His playing is very similar to Ronaldo's, quick, fast footwork and an impressive long range shot to boot.






Nuno Gomes
31
Club: Benfica


Nuno Gomes is the player with the most consecutive appearances in a major competition, he made his debut in Euro 00, and this will be his 5th consecutive major competition. Despite having the worst year of his career at Benfica this year, Nuno Gomes continues to deserve Scolari's confidence. He will most likely be the starting forward, and knows his continued starts can very well depend on how he plays. He is a team player and plays for the team, making that his biggest trait, he is strong on the 1-2s and his work rate on the field is impressive.
Nuno Gomes has always been able to have success on the national team, let's hope that'll be the case again



Helder Postiga
25
Club: Sporting(Porto)

Postiga made his debut in the 04 Euro, he was having a great year at Porto and Scolari called on him, he has been with the national team since then. Even when he didn't play at Porto he was always called by Scolari, and to much of everyone's surprise, Postiga would score.
He has yet to assert himself as a starter, much because of lack of steady playing time at Porto who have loaned him out almost every year, but with his recent move to Sporting, Postiga sees himself at a point where he can resurrect his career. We'll see how this latest move will affect Postiga.



These are the 23 chosen ones. In the next couple of days i will post more on the National team.

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Has to be Said

All day i've been stewing on this, and i must tell you that i felt compelled to post about this earlier, but i didn't want to get into it, for personal beliefs.

This morning Scolari revealed the list of players that will be be part of the team that will play Portugal's friendly against Greece, this upcoming Wednesday.
Here's the list:

Keepers: Ricardo (Betis, Esp) and Rui Patrício (Sporting).

Defenders: Bruno Alves (FC Porto), Caneira e Miguel (Valência), Paulo Ferreira and Ricardo Carvalho (Chelsea), Fernando Meira (Stuttgard) and Jorge Ribeiro (Boavista), Pepe (Real Madrid).

Midfielders: Raul Meireles (FC Porto), Carlos Martins (Recreativo de Huelva, Esp), João Moutinho and Miguel Veloso (Sporting)

Forwards: Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani (Manchester United), Ricardo Quaresma (FC Porto), Simão Sabrosa (Atlético Madrid) Nuno Gomes (Benfica) and Hugo Almeida (Werder Bremen).

I've never been one to question Scolari's call ups, or even been upset by them, but today i was really upset when i saw that Quim had been left out of his list.
Quim is currently, in my opinion, the best Portuguese keeper, his excellent moment of form have many believing that also. His exclusion of the national team for this game is a tremendous injustice, and something that hast left me questioning Scolari's logic behind it. Maybe another chance to see Rui Patricio? With the time running out on Scolari's final list announcement, there might be a couple uncertainties on players that are on the bubble, and deserve another look.

There's no doubt in my mind that for Scolari, Ricardo will always be number one, it does not matter who #2 is, and what his level of talent is. Ricardo "owns" Portugal's goal. I'm fine with that, and accept it, but with Quim's current moment of form i have often argued for the Benfica keeper to get a chance. But to be completely excluded? I just don't get that, and i have nothing against Rui Patricio, I think that he is a good keeper with a great future in front of him, despite having had some shaky moments this season.
Being the good soccer patriot that I am, I have never rooted against Portugal, and never will, I have never desired any misfortune on our national team. Despite being a Benfica fan and having disdain for players from other clubs, when they reach the national team, i'll root for them as i would root for any Benfica player, because it's for the nation. This is one of the reasons why I decided not to post about it earlier, but after stewing all day, i decided to come out and speak out on the injustice that it was to leave Quim out of the national team, whether or not Scolari needs to further evaluate Patricio. If you want to follow that reasoning why isn't Quim given a shot at the the #1 spot? He has shown he deserves it.

Just needed to get that off my chest.

-END-

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Mission Accomplished!

Portugal tied Finland and reached the finals of Euro 08. Portugal needed only 1 point to advance but came out to win the game. The same can't be said about Finland that did very little to get the three points, a result that would guarantee their qualification.
Portugal didn't play as well as everyone knows they are capable, but they were effective defensively and did enough to shutdown Finland and make them a non-threatening team.
But once again it was suffering until the very last minute

Scolari fielded the following 11:
Ricardo, Bosingwa, Pepe,Alves, Caneira; Meira, Veloso, Maniche; Quaresma, Ronaldo and Nuno Gomes.

An unexpected starting 11, but here's the logic; The insertion of Meira in the midfield is a clear act of populating the midfield, hence cutting down the space for attacking midfielders to penetrate. Not to mention that this clearly gives the core of the midfield more of a defensive posture, freeing up Quaresma and Ronaldo to attack. The defensive posture was necessary for this game; while a tie was sufficient, a loss would be a devastating result. Portugal didn't play for the tie, but they solidified their midfield, and built from that in hopes they could go up on the scoreboard, yet be defensive enough to no allow any goals, that was the main objective - not allowing goals. Both Veloso and Maniche played side by side while alternating on their attacking runs, while Meira played in front of the central defenders with a limited area of action as far as attacking went. This is a position that Meira plays at his club and it turned out to be the right choice for Scolari, as Meira plays well in that area, right in front of the defenders and as a first line of defense, as well as the "cleaner" playing for the second ball. With Meira stepping up into midfield, Pepe seemed to be the logical choice for the center of the defense. Playing with Alves, his partner last year at Porto, Pepe played a very good game and i was very impressed with his contribution; winning balls with quick anticipation, not to mention how effective he can be in offensive set pieces with his aerial game. Up front, we continue to see a Ronaldo and Quaresma a little bit below of their potential, perhaps the result of the Fin numbers that would immediately drop into their attacking lanes. Nuno Gomes played upfront and tried to combine with Ronaldo and Quaresma as much as he could, but very alone up front. Meireles, Makukula and Nani, came in to refresh positions. Not a pretty game, but effective, Portugal qualifies for their 3rd consecutive European Championship, and once again solidifies their status as European Elite. It was a tough qualification road, but, we must remember that this a Portuguese team that is going through renovation, new blood is being brought in, and these new players need time. Scolari has used 40 different players in the past 3 years, a clear sign of change.
Now it's time to look forward and put this qualifying behind us, there's 6 months until the finals, hopefully Scolari can bring this team together and make them play to their potential.

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Austria/Switzerland Awaits

So, After a little over a year since Qualifying for Euro 08 began, we are down to the very last round. A round where Portugal plays for all or nothing against Finland. The Fins come into the last round with a chance to qualify if they beat Portugal; Portugal on the other hand, will only need a tie to advance. It seems that this is a position that we're all too familiar being in; coming down to the last game and everything on the line. I think the Portuguese people thrive on this, We thrive on the satisfaction the success will bring us from being in such situations, because it is so much sweeter than if we had qualified 3 games ago, in the meantime, anxiety and nervousness seem to be enough to give you a heart attack.

Here we go:
Starting 11 for the Finland game
Ricardo
Bosingwa,Meira, Alves and Caneira
Veloso, Maniche
Quaresma, Simao, Ronalddo
Nuno Gomes

The only change from wednesday's game is the switch between Nuno Gomes and Hugo Almeida, the Werder Bremen forward suffered an injury and will not be able to go. Nuno Gomes gets the nod for the center forward position. Personally i would go with Makukula, as he is stronger physically, has a better aerial game and would be perfect to fight with the 2 tall central defenders. Scolari is banking on Nuno Gomes' experience and tactical game. Nuno Gomes offers more mobility and more combination play with the 3 attacking midfielders.
It'll be a very different game than the one from Saturday, Finland is a much better team than Armenia and they are going to lay it all on the line, as they have nothing to lose and all to gain. Hopefully the Portuguese will take the Fins alot more serious than the Armenians and will play on a level we know they are capable of.

Keys to the game:

Defensive line - The defense needs to lose the level of passiveness they had against the Armenians; markings should be tight and offensive players should not be given so much space to organize or even to think about a play. This where the games needs to start, while Portugal will not play for a tie, a strong, non-permissive defense is the biggest key to advance, whether by tying or winning the game.

Offensive mobility - it is very important that there is no ball watching. All the offensive players should remain in constant movement. This will not only provide pass options but will free up running lanes. This is very important, with Portugal having as much skill as they have, constant motion will make the Fins marking almost impossible and it's very hard to defend against.

Quaresma/Ronaldo - Definetely not at their best against the Armenians, look for Cristiano Ronaldo to step up, as he loves games like this. Quaresma also needs to play well, let's hope that playing at the Dragao can produce the same Quaresma that wears the blue and white jersey.
With Quaresma and Ronaldo at their best, it'll be hard to lose this game.

Crowd Support - The team needs support from the crowd. I can't understand how people that go to these games can jeer their national team, that is such a cowardly and ignorant act. I see those people as people who really don't want to see the National team succeed and do well. Yes, the players are professionals and make lots of money playing the sport, but still deserve all of our support as they have given us many moments of pride. A sold out Dragao behind the team will be enough to win the game.

It'll be a hard one, but i think Portugal will come through in the end, making us suffer until the very last minute.
1-0

Make your toughts heard about this game in the Talksoccer.com Forum

Forca Portugal!!!!

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Portugal 1 - Armenia 0 - Just Enough

Portugal beat Armenia by the score of 1-0, in a game where the goal and the 3 points were the most important thing. I'm not going to go into a long analysis of the game; i'll summarize it by saying that the performance wasn't all that great, but in soccer, goals win games not performances and in that aspect Portugal deserved to win. Portugal will need to play a lot better on Wednesday when they face Finland. The Fins are a lot better than Armenia and have as much riding on the result as Portugal.

As always, it seems to be the norm for the national team to make the Portuguese people suffer until the very last whistle, it's a tradition by now. Portugal really didn't need to be in this position, but they head into the final round of qualifying looking for 1 spot out of the 4 still up for grabs for the Euro 08. Poland has already qualified, which leaves Portugal, Servia and Finland to fight for the very last spot in Group A. - "Sofre Coracao"

Check Back for a preview of the Finland game.

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The Chosen Ones

For the last 2 games of qualifying Scolari called the following players:

Keepers: Ricardo (Bétis) and Quim (Benfica).
Defenders: Bosingwa and Bruno Alves (FC Porto), Miguel and Caneira (Valência), Ricardo Carvalho (Chelsea), Fernando Meira (Estugarda), Pepe (Real Madrid) and Jorge Ribeiro (Boavista).
Midfielders: Raul Meireles (FC Porto), Miguel Veloso (Sporting), Manuel Fernandes (Valência) and Maniche (Atlético Madrid).
Forwards: Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani (Manchester United), Simão (Atlético Madrid), Ricardo Quaresma (FC Porto), Nuno Gomes (Benfica), Hugo Almeida (Werder Bremen) and Makukula (Marítimo).

Ricardo Carvalho reported to camp with complaints of back pain, and after several tests he was declared unfit and excused from the National team. Apparently it was an injury that Carvalho had suffered in the last game he played for Chelsea, an injury that was later described as fractured vertebras in his back. He will be out of action for at least 8 weeks. Miguel contracted a muscular injury during one of the first training sessions and was also excused from national team duty. He was later substituted by Sporting's right back - Abel, who earned his first call up.

Breaking Down the sectors

Keepers - Ricardo and Quim have been the the 2 keepers of choice of Scolari for a long time now. In my opinion they are undoubtedly the best 2 Portuguese keepers at the moment. Ricardo will continue to be #1 despite Quim's good form.

Defenders - The middle of the defense seems to be the deepest position for Portugal, with no lack of good players currently. Due to the injury of Ricardo Carvalho, Scolari will have 3 natural defenders at his disposal - Meira, Bruno Alves and Pepe. The Luso-Brasilian is making his first National team camp appearance after being excused from the last concentration due to an injury. There was no need to call another player for Carvalho's spot, being that, Both Caneira and Miguel Veloso can serve as back up. Alves has played well and has been a starter for the past 4 national team games, if i'm not mistaken, he benefitted from Andrade's poor form and injury to break into the starting team and he has been there ever since. Meira played all of last years World Cup and has played on and off in the middle of defense throughout qualification. He is currently enjoying a good period of form and has had an important role at his club team - Stuttgart, where he is a captain. Pepe is coming from an injury and despite his familiarity with Alves he is lacking the familiarity with other defensive sector players as well as midfield players. So in the middle we will see Meira and Alves. For the sides, Bosingwa will get the start on the right as he is going through a great period of form and is a player with great stamina and athleticism. On the left it'll be Caneira, who will return after being injured in the game against Poland back in August. Abel and Ribeiro, will be there to add depth. Absent is Paulo Ferreira who is currently injured.

Midfield - Manuel Fernandes returns after more than 2 and a half years since his last call up. He is a player that has similar characteristics of Tiago, who seems to be going through a rough period at Juventus. Manuel Fernandes has been a stand out for the u-21 national team and is a player that has really matured in the past year or so, his call up was inevitable. Miguel Veloso, Raul Meireles and Maniche maintain Scolari's trust. Meireles and Veloso have more defensive characteristics, while Maniche is a pure transition player. Manuel Fernandes adds depth to the middle of the field as he is capable of playing both positions. Veloso and Maniche will get the nod in the midfield. Moutinho is the other notable absence, with Scolari wanting to go with a more offensive minded player in Manuel Fernandes.

Forwards - With Deco's absence in the midfield due to injury, Scolari told the media that he will use Simao in the "10" position. It is not an unfamiliar postion for the winger, he played it several times while at Benfica, and is tactically and technically sound for the task. This means that we will see Quaresma and Cristiano Ronaldo on the wings. Something, that is by some considered the dream wing tandem and the future. Nani will serve as back up for one of the wingers although he can also play a striker position if need be. Up front there's 3 for one spot. Makukula, Almeida and Nuno Gomes. Scolari has already told the media that, currently Nuno Gomes is not 100% to start (he has only played one full 90min games since returning from injury with Benfica) so the decision will fall on Makukula or Almeida, with the latter one having the advantage of having played a lot more minutes with the other 10 players, a factor that has certainly been taken into consideration by Scolari. Absent is Postiga, Scolari did not comment on Postiga's absence, but one can only conclude that the 3 center forwards called are all in better form than Postiga.

Starting 11

In conclusion i am projecting the following 11 to start -

Ricardo

Bosingwa - Meira - Alves - Caneira

Veloso

Maniche

Quaresma - Simao - Ronaldo

Almeida

Next Post - Game preview

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Do or Die for Portugal

With 2 rounds left to go in Euro 08 Qualifying, it becomes time to "do or die" for many teams, one of them being Portugal. Portugal is currently second in Group A one point behind leaders Poland.
Here's what the standings look like:

Poland 24pts
Portugal 23pts
Serbia 20pts
Finland 20pts
Belgium 15pts
Armenia 9pts
Kazakhstan 7pts
Azerbaijan 5pts

With 2 rounds and 6 points up for grabs, Portugal needs 4 points to qualify. Looking at the teams who have a chance of qualifying; Poland will play Belgium at home and will go to Serbia on their final game. Portugal will play the remaining 2 games at home against Armenia and Finland respectively. Serbia will also play their final 2 games at home against Kazakhstan and Poland. Finland will host Azerbaijan and travel to Portugal for the last game. So there's still a lot that can happen, ultimately Portugal controls their destiny, with an easier first game against Armenia and then a crucial game against Finland. Finland will be looking to get the most points in hopes of qualifying, they have a seemingly easy game against last place Azerbaijan and will be looking to go into the Portugal game with chances of qualifying. Group leaders Poland, will have a very hard game against Belgium, who despite being out of the run, will not "play nice", anything other than a win for Poland can possibly see them dropping to second place if Portugal beats Armenia, the Polish will then have a very difficult game in Serbia, where the Serbs will possibly have a chance of qualifying with a win against the Pols, being that their game on Saturday is against second to last place Kazakhstan.
So everything still very much open with Portugal and Poland in control of their destinies but with difficult last round games. Portugal has the edge playing at home, the Pols will have a harder task with 2 difficult games, the last one being away at a Serbia.

Next Post
I will analyze Scolari's call up list and project the starting 11 for Saturday's match.

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Time to switch shirts!

With Portugal's qualifying for Euro 2008 on the line, with games on Saturday and Wednesday, it's time to take off the Benfica shirt and put on the shirt of the national team.

Observations, previews and predictions coming soon!

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Benfica Players on International Duty

The following players will be away on international duty:

Binya - Binya will be attending a short Cameroonian National team camp that will serve as observation of new as well as regular players for the new coach, Otto Pfister. The camp will take place in Nuremberg, Germany from the 15th through the 19th of November. Cameroon will need to start preparing for the African Nations Cup taking place January through the end of February, this is certainly a chance for the new coach to look at the players and to start thinking about the squad that will participate in the African competition.

Katsouranis -Katsouranis will basically be celebrating the Greek's team qualification. It'll be their first home game since their qualification, and the fans will surely give the team a warm reception in a party atmosphere. They will host Malta and will then play Hungary on the following wednesday.
Quim and Nuno Gomes - were called up by Scolari for the 2 decisive games that will dictate Portugal's qualification for the Euro 2008. The games will be against Armenia and FInland, and Portugal can qualify with 2 wins. I will explore these 2 games in an upcoming post.
Freddy Adu - Freddy earned his second straight call up to the US Men's National team, they will travel to South Africa to play the Bafana, Bafana onNovember 17th.

Maxi and Rodriguez - Were both called up for the Uruguayan National team against Chile and Brasil on 18th and 21st of November, respectively. These are games that are already towards World Cup Qualification.



Called But not Attending

Oscar Cardozo - Cardozo had been called originally for his team's double round of qualifiers, but was scratched off the call up sheet after picking up an injury on this past Sunday's game.

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2 Down 2 To Go

Portugal got maximum points in the double round of European Cup Qualifying this week with wins over Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. Even though the team is still far from their top shape, it was important to come out with 2 wins as the qualifying is down to its final stages. Portugal now need 4 points to qualify out of a possible 6. On another note, Nuno Gomes hurt himself during warm up for the game against Azerbaijan and is now out for the next 10 or so days.

Germany, Greece, Romania and the Czech Republic have already qualified with 2 rounds yet to be played.

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No room for error

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