Euro 2012 Team-by-Team Preview: Portugal

30 May 2012 10:05
Manager: Paulo Bento

Group: B

Bet-at-home odds: 16,00

Fixtures: Germany (9/6), Denmark (13/6), Netherlands (17/6)

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Eduardo (Benfica), Rui Patrício (Sporting Lisbon), Beto (Cluj).

Defenders: João Pereira (Sporting Lisbon), Fábio Coentrão (Real Madrid), Bruno Alves (Zenit St Petersburg), Rolando (Porto), Ricardo Costa (Valencia), Pepe (Real Madrid), Miguel Lopes (Braga).

Midfielders:
Raúl Meireles (Chelsea), Miguel Veloso (Genoa), João Moutinho (Porto), Rúben Micael (Real Zaragoza), Carlos Martins (Granada), Custódio (Braga).

Forwards: Nani (Manchester United), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Hugo Almeida (Beşiktaş), Ricardo Quaresma (Beşiktaş), Silvestre Varela (Porto), Hélder Postiga (Real Zaragoza), Nélson Oliveira (Benfica).

Portugal were in qualifying Group H, they finished second, behind Denmark which made them go to the play-offs for a place in the finals. The beat Bosnia and Herzegovina 6-2 after drawing 0-0 in the first leg.

Even though know they have a more than decent team, the Quinas pass through the European Championships and World Cup is not that great, they have never won any major competition. The first time they qualified for the European tournament was in 1984 where they reached the semi finals, they didn't qualify from 1988 to 1992. In 2004 they reached the final, but lost against Greece, 2nd place is the furthest Portugal have gotten. In the World Cup the first time they qualified was in 1966, where they finished third. In 2010 they reached the round of 16, but lost 1-0 against Spain.

The Quinas top goalscorer is Cristiano Ronaldo, he's currently on 32 goals. Portugal's top goalscorer ever is Pauleta, in his time in the national team he managed to score 47 goals. The Real Madrid striker is also Captain and has 88 caps.

Louis Van Gaal thinks that Portugal might the the surprise of the tournament. Portugal are in what is considered the 'Death Group' of the tournament, as their rivals are Germany, Holland and Denmark. Paulo Bento says that he has a good squad, and will definitely put up a fight, and not let the other teams intimidate them.

Source: DSG