Portugal vs Russia [R]

a most win for Portugal, I believe Deco and Cristiano Ronaldo to starter, how about Nuno Gomes instead of Pauleta?

 

if I was the coach we would win the game easily


we would been better off with Manuel Jose


I hope I am wrong.

 

they could use Baia coolness to calm everybody down, just like he did on the first play of the CL final

 

Postiga waits for Portuguese call as hosts bid to bounce back


June 14, 2004
ALCOCHETE, Portugal (AFP) - Facing a humiliating exit from their own European Championships, Portugal are stocking up on their firepower ahead of their do-or-die meeting with Russia on Wednesday.

After Saturday's horror show brought a 2-1 loss to rank outsiders Greece the Portuguese will keep faith with Nuno Gomes and Pedro Pauleta in attack with Ronaldo supplying the ammunition from the left and Luis Figo from the right flank.

But Tottenham Hotspur striker Helder Postiga hopes to prove a point should coach Luiz Felipe Scolari give him a run out from the bench with anything less than three points likely to prove fatal for the host nation against the Russians.

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"We've been working on various tactical scenarios and come what may we will be ready for Wednesday," Postiga insisted, adding that "the team has been working to put Saturday's loss to the back of our minds - though it has left a mark.

"The Russia match is of overriding importance and we have to show that we are actually a good side. We have a good feeling now and our idea is to forget Greece, concentrate on Russia and get into a winning state of mind to get or championship hopes back on track."

Although Postiga accepts he will once again be a spectator from the bench when the sides take to the field at the Stadium of Light he insisted he would be ready to seize a chance if Scolari, who led Brazil to glory in the 2002 World Cup, offers him even a few minutes.

"I've been working very hard every day to be ready for the call. If I get it I will be ready to do the job," said the forward, who is keen to forget a miserable Premiership campaign.

Nuno Gomes himself began the Greece game on the sidelines before failing to find the target in the 25 minutes allocated to him last Saturday.

But frayed nerves got to him along with his teammates as even the squad's most experienced campaigners such as Real Madrid star Figo failed to shine.

"The players felt under pressure. We were nervous and Greece exploited that perfectly," the striker admitted, adding that he and Pauleta have yet to get onto the same wavelength.

"It's a fact we haven't played too often alongside each other. We need to create a routine."

Defender Manuel, held in reserve for the opening match but hoping to profit from the loss by winning a call up, said Portugal simply froze on the day - but vowed there would be no repeat.

"We went into the (Greece) match feeling very nervous, after all it was the first game. At such an important event it is normal to feel affected. That feeling spread through the group. But Russia will be a different matter."

 

Euro-Portuguese tide turns in Deco's favour



By Brian Homewood

ALCOCHETE, Portugal, June 14 (Reuters) - Portugal midfielder Deco started Euro 2004 on the substitutes bench but the tide appears to be turning in his favour after the team's dismal 2-1 defeat by Greece in their Euro 2004 opener on Saturday.

The Portuguese media and public are clamouring for the Brazilian-born player to win a place at Rui Costa's expense against Russia on Wednesday, when only a win would probably be enough to keep the hosts in the race for the quarter-finals.

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Rui Costa, 32, began the competition as playmaker but his pedestrian performance against Greece caused him to be substituted at halftime. He also got the thumbs-down from the media, with the three sporting dailies giving him marks ranging from three to four out of ten.

His lacklustre effort followed a disappointing season with AC Milan, where he was largely frozen out by Brazilian new boy Kaka and reduced to the role of second-half substitute.

Even when he did come on, Rui Costa's performances were often on the wrong side of unremarkable.

Deco, on the other, hand was a regular in the Porto team which won the Champions League.

Portugal's players, who routinely churn out the same answers to questions at media conferences, will not comment on team selections, and coach Luiz Felipe Scolari is only due to give his next interview on Tuesday.

But they agree that the team improved against Greece after Deco came on.

"In the second half, we passed the ball better, we had more possession and more scoring chances," striker Helder Postiga said on Monday.

Deco made a spectacular international debut last year, scoring the winning goal against his native country as Portugal won a friendly 2-1.

Since then, his performances for his adopted country have been good rather than brilliant and his presence has attracted criticism from players such as Luis Figo, who believe foreign-born players have no place in the side.

Perhaps the only factor in Rui Costa's favour is that Scolari seems almost to enjoy going in the face of public opinion.

When he was coach of his native Brazil, Scolari stood firm against intense public pressure -- including lobbying from president Fernando Henrique Cardoso -- and refused to call veteran striker Romario into his squad.

"I'm not interested in whether my decisions please A, B or C," he said before the Greece game.

"I've had to make decisions, I've taken them in the interests of the team and I've always done this with a philosophy of respect."

 

Nuno Gomes Promises Russia Win 14/06/04
Still stinging from a shock loss to Greece, disappointed Portugal striker Nuno Gomes has gone on record as assuring victory in their second Euro2004 group match with Russia.

”We wilted under pressure against Greece and that will not happen against Russia on Wednesday,” vowed the Benfica ace. “We have our backs against the wall now, so we will beat Russia on Wednesday."

After netting four times during Portugal’s bronze run at Euro2000, the youthful veteran realizes what it takes to excel on the big stage.

"We know what we have to do, and we will go out there and do it,” insisted Nuno Gomes. “We are very united at the moment and we all believe in each other."


Wear the national team colors of Portugal with pride. Available at the WorldSoccerShop

 

Mostovoi ex Benfica player, was release from the Russia national team,

15-06-2004 22:41

«A vida continua e o futebol também...» (Mostovoi)
O médio Alexander Mostovoi já reagiu à sua dispensa da selecção da Rússia, em vésperas do encontro frente a Portugal, da segunda jornada do Grupo A do Euro-2004

 

my prediction will be 2-0 for Portugal, goals by Ronaldo and Nuno Gomes

 

I did watch the goal, Maniche with the assist

it looks like Portugal only playing with 3 players from out of the country, Figo, Pauleta and Jorge Andrade the other 8 from the superligs

 

the tickets are sold