Well never to early to talk World Cup especially since it is in Brazil! They will be tremendously supported but then again so will Portugal! ( If we don't screw things up in qualification! see previous 2 qualifying stages of Euro 2012 and World Cup 2012. ) I would love to see some of our youths get in this team and some of our current players to hit the road... Almeida and Postiga come to mind and Quaresma... was this guy even there? I would LOVE to see Danilo in Parma get a shot and Agostinho Ca... or Beast as i call him, these 2 guys in our Defensive Mid is such a delicious prospect that saliva just dripped on my keypad. Here is who I would try to start in the Qualifiers for the World Cup: Goal: Rui Patricio, Eduardo, Defence: Pepe, Fabio Coentrao, Bruno Alves, João Pereira, Daniel Carriço, Rolando Defensive Midfield: Danilo, Agostinho Ca, Miguel Veloso Central Mid: Joao Moutinho, Sergio Oliviera, Danny, Raul Meireles Wings: Nani, Ronaldo, Bruma, Silvestre Varela Striker: Nelson Oliviera, Ricardo Vaz Te, Betinho I know things could change very fast with the youngsters, so this is who i would try out as of this moment. I would really like to gel these crop of players from age 18 team to the National team so we can get some depth in the Equipa das Quinas.
I would not be shocked if Agostinho ca made the team. He is matured beyond years, and definitely a stand-out in the u19 program. But we need Betinho to flourish. Still think Nelo/RVT will occupy the forward position. Bruma is good but Agra & Vierinha deserve a look... they're older and improving. Don't forget about the U21 Nt... some good defenders on there... Cedric, Mendes, Ruben Ferreira all look good.
GK; Patricio, Mika, Eduardo FB: Coentrao, Pareira, Soares CB: Pepe, Alves, Reis, Roderick CM: Moutinho, Danilo, Veloso, Ca, A.Martins, Fernandes WG:Ronaldo, Nani, Vieirinha, Danny ST: Vaz-te, Oliveira, Betinho
I want there to be more youth on the team but i don't think there will be. However, i do see Vaz Te and perhaps Betinho cracking the striker spots for 2014. Besides that, i don't think Bento will want to take risks with the youth that aren't proven at club level. For most of them to crack the line-up, they would probably need to impress deeply and consistently at the qualifiers if they are chosen.
Our team will be largely unchanged from our Euro 2012 team due to lack of good talent. Only guys that will be dropped are Postiga, Almeida (unless if we had no other inform strikers) and Rolando if he continues his crapfest.
RVT should get a shot regardless. Our striker position is weak and we need to experiment, other than that, no changes.
I would like the following NEW players to get a look see; Andre Martins Adrien Silva Cedric Soares Daniel Carrico ANY YOUNG STRIKER ( Vaz Te, Wilson Eduardo, etc..)
Any chance we can have a sober analysis? Quit putting unproven youngsters in the national team lineup. Sérgio Oliveira and Vaz Tê above all. Only in this forum do you see so much hype about these two, it's ridiculous.
So we should go to Brazil with Hugo Almeida and Postiga as our strikers... Why? Is that what the answer is, not try new things for the sake of having the team stay the same, and have the same problems in Brazil as we did in this past Euro, and previous WC's and Qualifiers ? I'm not saying we need to change the entire team. We should keep what is working and replace what is not. At least it would make sense to have 2 or 3 young players in the Qualifiers playing and learning the tactics with the team then have the same guys who don't execute there. If Vaz Te is hot, bring him on board because Hugo Almeida needs to go! and Postiga is not a starting 11 option anymore.
RVT is worth the HYPE, if he continues his form in the EPL, then he deserves a call-up. Sergio hasn't done big, he flopped at the U20 tourney and is still developing. Another kid I would look at for the striker role is RUI FONTE. Kid has really turn things around when everyone counted him out. Almeida/Postiga days are numbered. They've played in four tournaments and haven't shined... it's time to move on.
That's my point with the "if". Ifs shouldn't get you in the national team just because they might. André Martins...Roderick Miranda...lol, you people are an anedocte. I even just showed this to a friend of mine who coached 2 youth teams in the portuguese premier league and laughed at you. It's not that these kids can't make into to the nt, it's about them not having enough pedigree to play in their teams nevermind in the national team! Watch N. Oliveira for an instance, a lot of potential but the kid was invisible when he came in. Although I consider that his experience in the tournament might of benefited him experience wise, we can't possible risk having a third of team made up of green legs that most likely will only improve at a long, LONG term. I'll say it again, only in this forum do you speak of players that aren't not even mentioned in casual football talk in Portugal. Media columnists alike. ...and if you guys even dare to say that you have a better perspective because you live abroad - because I might well imagine you will - then I'll consider this place a total brain fart.
tbh though If I were the NT manager I would always call up our most promising young talents in each respective positions. What's the point of calling up bums like Ricardo Costa, Ruben Michael, Quaresma etc that have nothing to offer the NT present or future. ex 1 GK Mika? didn't play at all for Benfica this season though but I dont know of anyone else :S 1 Fullback = Cedric 1 CB lots of possibilities here.. Carrico, Nuno Reis, Miguel Vitor, Roderick 1 DM Roderick / Danilo 1 CM/AM dunno anyone with potential just seem to young at this point.. Maybe Pizzi? 1 Winger.. lol I don't think there are any atm all way to young you need Ronaldo type class to play at that age. 1 striker.. surprisingly Bento did this with Nelson Oliviera
I agree with you for the most part, but do you really think that it was worth using Postiga or Almeida this tournament over Nelson Oliveira? He didn't score and didn't seem influential but for a young guy coming in for 10-20 minutes a game it's hard to look good, even Cristiano didn't look great when he came in against Greece in 2004 but once he was given the start he learned quickly and showed his quality. Considering how woeful Almeida and Postiga have constantly proven to be, why not give Nelson Oliveira at least 1 full 90 minutes and see what he can do? When you base players on pedigree and reputation, you get players like Quaresma or Hugo Viana instead of Vieirinha or Manuel Fernandes. A NT like ours does not have quality at every position so playing mediocre old players over young players who can learn much and not bring down our performance is a must
If Vaz Te can score 10 goals this year in the EPL, he deserves a look. Postiga only scored 9 in La Liga.
He deserved to be on the euro 2012 squad IMHO, poor choice by Bento. The guy has all the tools to be a lethal striker. And stop hating on NELO, peeps. He is young and will only get better. Betinho, he is does well for Sporting could be a good choice. All I know it is time to move on from the old generation and move on to the new generation.
Vaz Te scored twice in a preseason warm-up match today, which is about the number of goals Postiga, Almeida and Oliveira combined for every couple months or so in 2011-12. Anyone arguing against Vaz Te getting a chance for Portugal right away is just not using their head. Stop pretending like he was scoring goals against the Sisters of the Poor last season and recognize his excellent form.
He should get a chance right now because he scored two goals in a preseason warm-up match against Rot-Weiss Erfurt, a 3rd Bundesliga team?
I guess we are not using our heads and are from the "old generation" Let this guy start ripping up the EPL, then he will get his call-up. Hopefully he doens't choke like the last time he was in the EPL.