One Passion, One Goal, One Dream. In twenty four days, the entire world will gather for one month, to enjoy the Most Beautiful Game...Jogo Bonito...The 2006 FIFA World Cup of Soccer.

If there was ever a year for Portugal to win the World Cup, this would be it. Luis Felipe Scolari will be in charge of what's expected to be his final tournament as Head Coach of Portugal. Today, he unvieled the roster he's taking with him to Germany. 23 men who carry the weight of an entire nation on its shoulders. 23 men who we will look towards in hopes of making dreams come true. Let's face it, Portugal is one of those teams with so much natural talent and ability. So much promise and hope with this team, yet this will be just their fourth ever appearance on the World's stage. They came close in 66, Eusebio leading them to a third place finish. In 86 and 02, they failed miserably...failing to pass the first round. Will this year be different?

A quick glance at the lineup shows Scolari will go with virtually the same lineup he took with him to Euro 2004. For those of you who have forgotten, Portugal went to the finals only to lose 1-0 to Greece. It's a team that has proven it can succeed, as long as it doesn't get frustrated and continues to stick to its game plan.


Goalkeepers: Ricardo Pereira (Sporting), Quim Silva (Benfica), Bruno Vale (Estrela Amadora)

No big surprises here and it is expected that Ricardo will get the nod. I must admit that I'm not a fan of the Sporting netminder and can only hope that he will prove me wrong. While he played well in the penalty kicks against England back in the Euro 2004 Quarter-Finals, he also failed to impress against Greece. The biggest knock against Ricardo is his inability to properly handle crosses, free kicks, and corner kicks. For some reason, Scolari feels Ricardo can get the job done and I don't know about you, but I'm not going to doubt a man who won a World Cup with Brazil and took Portugal to the finals of Euro 2004. I think his track record speaks for itself.

Defenders: Paulo Ferreira (Chelsea), Miguel Monteiro (Valencia), Ricardo Carvalho (Chelsea), Fernando Meira (VfB Stuttgart), Marco Caneira (Sporting), Ricardo Costa (Porto), Nuno Valente (Everton)


Nothing major to comment on here. I'm big fans of Paulo Ferreira, Miguel and Ricardo Carvalho. I feel our defence will be strong, which is what hurt us against Greece both times we lost against them. Nuno Valente is a proven warrior, and given an opportunity, Marco Caneira can certainly impress as well.


Midfielders: Armando Petit (Benfica), Costinha (Dynamo Moscow), Tiago Mendes (Olympique Lyon), Maniche Ribeiro (Chelsea), Hugo Viana (Valencia), Luis Figo (Inter Milan), Deco (Barcelona), Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United), Simao Sabrosa (Benfica)

I understand the reasoning, but can someone please explain once again why Ricardo Quaresma is left off the squad, yet Huga Viana is in the lineup? Officially, Quaresma was left off so he could help Portugal's U-21 squad at the European Championships this month which will be held in Portugal. Now, I like Viana and was incredibly dissapointed that Sporting failed to put forth any sort of effort to keep him around this season. Yet Quaresma, another former Sporting product, has had a terrific season with FC Porto. Quaresma is an awesome youngster and words cant describe just how awesome it would look to see him on one wing, Cristiano Ronaldo on the other. Quaresma and Ronaldo...a lethal combination, and again, two products of Sporting's Youth Development Program. I'm happy to see Tiago in the mix and great to see Figo back in there. Figo has turned his career around since being transfered to Inter Milan and I really think that the wake up call was when Scolari took him out against England. No other coach in Portugal would have the balls to have done that, and I truly believe that put his career back on track. Portugal is known around the world to have a dangerous midfield, and as we've seen, come World Cup it'll be no different.

Forwards: Luis Boa Morte (Fulham), Pauleta (Paris Saint-Germain) Nuno Gomes (Benfica), Helder Postiga (Saint-Etienne).

Once again no big surprises here. Both Pauleta and Nuno Gomes have been in top form this season and will take the bulk of the playing time. Obviously, Portugal likes to play with just one forward so I'm fully expecting to see Pauleta get the nod. I would like to see Luis Boa Morte and Postiga get a bit more playing time but they are also good to have when in desperate need of fresh legs. Case in Point, Scolari taking out Figo against England and replacing him with Postiga. Postiga then went on to send the game into Extra Time with a nice goal off a corner kick.

Overall, I'm pleased with the roster put out today. I'm disappointed that Quaresma wasnt selected but there's no doubt in my mind he'll be a central figure at Euro 2008. FORCA PORTUGAL.

Good analysis Enigma. I think Portugal are the strongest in their group despite Mexico's higher ranking because Portugal gets tougher competition in Europe and Mexico's inconsistent.

And they are starting play with the team least likely to give them a surprise in Angola, then who I think is the next strongest Iran, before finally meeting Mexico in the roundrobin. As long as they don't get heady coming out of that Group, they are going to give other groups pains.

Enigma, I will send you a picture as soon as I get my girlfriend. I expect that to happen around, say, July 4th or so.

To be honest, even after all that, I still can't see Portugal having the firepower to top Brazil. Portugal and Brazil could potentially meet in the semifinals if both teams win their groups. I still have to get a girlfriend though, just for counting Portugal out so soon.

Round One Schedule

June 11 - Portugal vs Angola 12:30pm MST
June 17 - Portugal vs Iran 6:30am MST
June 21 - Portugal vs Mexico 7:30am MST

I'm confident Portugal will finish first in this group. But it will be far from easy.

Angola will be an incredibly difficult task. The last time they played each other, the game had to be called off late in the second half, as the Angolans were way too rough and taking too many cheap shots. The problem here is the history between the two nations. Angola used to be a Portuguese colony, and at one point the Portuguese military was there for war back in the 70s. So it'll be a highly emotional game, and as long as Portugal sticks to its game plan it should be no problem

As for Iran, they're another dangerous team. They're very quick and can strike when you least expect it. They're a team that you can't afford to take your foot off the gas pedal cuz they'll come at you at the slightest of opportunities. Portugal's sensational midfield, one of the best in the world, should be able to get the job done in this one.

And the battle to determine first place...Portugal vs Mexico. Two nations that play a similar style. A game that really could go either way. But as the Americans have shown, the Mexicans can be defeated and their defence can be penetrated. So we'll see how the Mexicans fare with a guy like Cristiano Ronaldo streaking in down the wing...crossing it over to Pauleta.

I believe Portugal will finish 3-0, though I can see them drawing against Mexico as well. I don't forsee any losses in the opening round. Then again, I didn't see Portugal losing to the US and South Korea and we all know what happened.

Some worrying news out of Portugal's camp. Luis Figo has revealed that he's "Drained". He's apparantly spent 2,472 minutes on the pitch in 34 games with Inter Milan this season. That's an average of about 72.7min per game.

It once again begs the question...should all leagues cut back on the number of teams (which effectivly cuts back on number of games played)?

Portugal has a couple of warm up games to look forward to. On Saturday we take on Cape Verde, and on June 3rd it's a game against Luxembourg.

Interesting stat...

In 2004, Portuguese Midfielder Deco played for FC Porto. Porto went on to win the Champions League. A month later, Portugal went on to advance to the finals of Euro 2004.

In 2006, Portuguese Midfielder Deco played for FC Barcelona. Barcelona went on to win the Champions League. Could history repeat itself???

I definitely think history can repeat itself & Portugal can reach the finals of Euro 2008.

[ May 24, 2006, 10:42 AM: Message edited by: simontexas ]