All this talk about strikers neglects the fact that our biggest problem come June will be defense. We've never had WC strikers but we've had a great run over the last few years. But the anchor of this tremendous run of results has been a World Class defense - consistently strong CB pairs (Carvalho + whoever) and really strong RBs (Miguel, Bosingwa) with strong back ups ready to step up when cards/knocks came up. World class defensive starters + a strong bench = recipe for tournament success. Now we have lost Carvalho, our other starter, Bruno Alves is in decline (riding the bench at Zenit most of the year), and JP is young, and decent, but is never going to world-class at RB. The bench... is thin. Worse, if you've watched the CL semi-finals you will have noticed that even our 2 strongest remaining defenders, Pepe and Coentrao, struggled mightily against players that will feature a lot come June - players like Robben, Lahm and Gomez. Now, let's add to that brew the fact that Van Persie and Huntalaar had stellar seasons and that the Danish wingers had their way with our full-backs during qualies... Put all these facts together and, realistically, you really have to tone down your expectations for the tournament. I am still hoping that Paulo Bento can conjure up a really strong midfield triangle to shield the defense, and, frankly, that CR and Nani just go into playstation mode (something like the beginning of the Bosnia game would do). Then, our lack of a decent striker would be irrelevant (for the record, Nelo and Vaz Te are not going to feature - they are possibilities for the future; no way we are going to experiment with these guys during a tournament; it's going to be Postiga starting and Almeida subbing the whole way. I don't know how this is even a topic of discussion).
I agree with pretty much everything in your post. Our defense is razor thin and not nearly as strong as it was in previous tournaments. I disagree with your point about Joao Pereira being young. He's 28. He is average at best and inexperienced...having never played in a major tournament. Thought he was one of Sporting's worst players today against Bilbao. So he's a major concern for me. Postiga and Almeida are the guys we are going to use without question. Would be shocked if Nelson Oliveira got a minute of playing time in this tournament, if he even make's the squad.
Yeah, I meant inexperienced at the high levels of competition. Didn't even know he was that old. JFC. Yeah, Bilbao was the other bad news this week. JP bears the brunt of responsibly for goals 2 and 3. Goal 2: Not sure why he left his man to pressure Llorente, who already was marked. Goal 3 he was got completely turned around by the dribble. He was in a tough situation, that close to goal, he had to respect the shot, but boy did he bite hard not to mention that it was arguably his fault for being out of position to begin with. Worrisome when you consider that the Danish wingers also had their way with him...
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUeaX_jMPZc&feature=fvwp"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUeaX_jMPZc&feature=fvwp[/ame]
lol this reminds me when all of you wanted makukula to be called up. vaz te sucks and shouldnt be called up period