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A to Z of WORLD CUP SOUTH AFRICA 2010 - Portugal
PORTUGAL: Prior to qualifying for South Africa, Portugal had made only 4 appearances at the World Cup Finals. They were eliminated at the Round 1 stage in both 1986 and 2002. Their first ever involvement in the competition was in 1966 where they beat North Korea 5-3 in a still-memorable quarter-final match at Goodison Park before losing 2-1 to England in the semi’s. They eventually finished 3rd overall. In Germany 2006 they won their group, defeated Holland 1-0 in the last 16 match (the ‘battle of Nuremburg’ – 16 yellow cards and 4 dismissals!) and then met England in the quarter-finals. After a 0-0 draw and the sending off of Wayne Rooney, the game went to penalties which England (inevitably?) lost 3-1. Portugal lost their semi-final 1-0 to France and their play-off match, for 3rd place, 3-1 to Germany. Since 2008 the side has been coached by the Mozambique-bornCarlos Queiroz. This is his second spell in charge of the squad, having previously coached them from 1991-1993. Qualification for South Africa did not go smoothly as the team won only 1 of their first 5 matches. However a ‘second-half’ transformation saw them score 8 goals, without conceding any, in their last 4 matches. This earned them a two-legged play off spot against Bosnia-Herzegovnia which they won comfortably 2-0 overall. That play-off victory came without their captain and talisman Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid. Whilst still some way off the form which saw him earn the 2008 FIFA Player title, he remains a formidable force and is quoted by Paddy Power at 18/1 to be the tournament’s top scorer. Yet the team is not a one-man-band. The likes of Porto’s Bruno Alves will bring aerial ability and aggression to both ends of the pitch. Chelsea’s Ricardo Carvalho, if he maintains his fitness, is bound to marshal the defence along with Real Madrid’s Pepe. Questions remain as to whether Chelsea’s Deco and Athletico Madrid’s Simao still have the legs to impose their will on midfield. Ranked 4th by FIFA, Portugal have been drawn in Group G – the ‘Group of Death’- alongside Brazil, Ivory Coast and North Korea. Such is the strength of this quartet that Betfred are offering odds of 10/3 on the eventual tournament winner coming from Group G. As to the group itself, Totesport have Portugal at 4/1 to top the other 3 sides. A key match in Group G is likely to be the Portugal v Ivory Coast fixture on June 15th. Sven Goran Eriksson has recently been appointed to take charge of the Ivorians and is bound to find a way of nullifying Cristiano! You can get 7/4 from Skybet on Seleccao das Quinas (Portugal’s nickname) winning this crucial tie. Beyond that, a semi-final spot for Queiroz’s boys can be had from bwin at 4/1 whilst Sportingbet see Ronaldo lifting the trophy at 28/1.
Posted: Wednesday, May 5th, 2010 @ 10:05 pm by Mark
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