Portugal at the World Cup

Portugal

Vital Statistics:

World Cup appearances – 5

Best World Cup – Third Place; 1966

FIFA World Ranking – 5

Manager: Carlos Queiroz

Captain: Cristiano Ronaldo

Profile:

The Portuguese have been on of the frontrunners in recent competitions over the past decade or so but only just about made it through to this summers show-piece. After a dreadful qualifying campaign, which seen them come within a point of not making the finals. Portugal, despite boasting some of the world’s finest talent, struggled throughout and only made it through to the play-off’s after a strong finish to the campaign which seen them win their remaining three qualifiers. However, even then they still had a lot of work to do as they were drawn against a tricky Bosnia & Herzegovina. Portugal did eventually book their spot in the finals with a 2-0 aggregate win, winning 1-0 in both legs, but they still weren’t convincing.

Portugal’s far from flawless qualifying campaign has led to Bookies pricing the Portuguese up as one of the outsiders and are currently available at around the 30/1 mark. They look a dream outside bet if truth be told as, at the end of the day, Queiroz does have the former World Player of the Year at his beckon call in Ronaldo. However, they will need their star player and captain to shine in South Africa if they want to better their previous effort in a World Cup when they finished the 2006 finals in Fourth Place.

We must also mention that this will be their third successive appearance in a World Cup after previously managing just one appearance in an almost baron 28 year spell.

Key Player(s):

Cristiano Ronaldo -

Arguably thee most glamorous player on the planet and the term ‘Superstar’ will be thrown about a lot when this player gets on the ball and does something magical. The sheer presence of the man will have the natives in Africa going crazy, but it’s what he does on the pitch which interests us. The Real Madrid star and most expensive player on the planet has just about every quality and attribute in his locker; Pace, strength, flair, good in the air, a mean finisher & a dangerous free-kick taker. We could literally go on and on, such is the greatness of the player. However, he does have a bad side to him and that’s his temper. This is mainly down to his gigantic ego but Ronaldo has been known to lash out when things aren’t going his way on the pitch, and so, even when Ronaldo isn’t on the ball he is still getting all the attention. You just can’t take your eyes off him!

Liedson -

The guy is 32 years-old and yet he is the likely choice for Queiroz up front as Portugal’s attacking options are extremely limited. The Sporting Lisbon front man is more than equipped to play the solitary role up front but has only recently been introduced into the Portugal side and has but a few caps to his name. However, the age factor shouldn’t be too much of an issue as Portugal are renowned for their veteran strikers, with Pauleta & Nuno Gomes just two of their more recent 30+ strikers that have led the line for them in recent World Cups. The pressure on him to score Portugal’s goals will be enormous as Portugal did struggle for regular goals during qualifying and often had to rely on their midfielders chipping in.

Strengths – Their strength is undoubtedly their biggest asset – Cristiano Ronaldo. The man has the potential and audacity to win any game single handily, and with Portugal not at the strongest, especially in attack, he may well have to carry this Portugal side to success in South Africa. However, Ronaldo has struggled with a few injuries during the course of the season and that will be a concern ahead of the finals in what will be some tough, gruelling games for Portugal. If Ronaldo is fit then Portugal will be a threat against any nation. If he isn’t, however, then Portugal simply aren’t the same side.

Weakness – There are two main reasons why many punters will steer well clear of backing Portugal in the summer. The first one will be how they would cope were Ronaldo to fall foul to injury as Portugal don’t look anywhere near as dangerous or intimidating without their star man. The second would be their lack of fire-power up front. Portugal seriously had troubles scoring goals during qualifying, especially in the early part of the campaign, as they don’t have a world class striker to score enough goals. There will be questions asked of Portugal this summer and it will be interesting to see how they answer their critics.

Qualification:

Sector: European

Group: 1

Position: 2nd

Win-Draw-Lose: 5-4-1

Goals Scored: 17

Goals Conceded: 5

Despite boasting a tidy defensive record during qualification, Portugal lacked that cutting edge in the final and it nearly came back to haunt them. They started poorly but a strong finish enabled them to grab hold of a lifeline in the form of a two-legged play-off with Bosnia. The Portuguese kept their hopes alive of winning their first ever World Cup by beating Bosnia 2-0 on aggregate.

World Cup Potential: 4/5

Their chances of success this summer rely solely on the form of their captain, Ronaldo. The Real Madrid & former Manchester United player has often been criticised for not performing for his country, with Ronaldo often seen scoring plenty of goals for his club but he’s never been as prolific for Portugal. However, this is the weakest we’ve seen the Portugal set up for some time and they will need him to step up to the plate. Ronaldo has the potential to drag this average looking Portugal side to the deeper depths of the tournament and they look a stunning EW bet in our eyes. They do, also, have other key players who can make a difference, so all is not completely lost if Ronaldo doesn’t meet the hype.

Current World Cup Odds (Outright): 28/1 Expekt

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