Official Euro 2008 Qualifier Thread (41 Viewers)
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Portugal v Belgium
March 24, 2007
Euro 2008 Qualifying
Scolari announces the team most likely to play.
Ricardo;
Miguel, Jorge Andrade, Ricardo Carvalho, Paulo Ferreira;
Petit, Tiago, Hugo Viana;
Quaresma, Hugo Almeida Cristiano Ronaldo.
www.abola.pt
Sick team, I'm happy to see Hugo Almeida starting, and Cristiano and Quaresma playing I think Quaresma should play on the left, and Ronaldo on the right, oh well we'll see!
Forca Portugal!
March 24, 2007
Euro 2008 Qualifying
Scolari announces the team most likely to play.
Ricardo;
Miguel, Jorge Andrade, Ricardo Carvalho, Paulo Ferreira;
Petit, Tiago, Hugo Viana;
Quaresma, Hugo Almeida Cristiano Ronaldo.
www.abola.pt
Sick team, I'm happy to see Hugo Almeida starting, and Cristiano and Quaresma playing I think Quaresma should play on the left, and Ronaldo on the right, oh well we'll see!
Forca Portugal!
Portugal v Belgium
March 24, 2007
Euro 2008 Qualifying
Scolari announces the team most likely to play.
Ricardo;
Miguel, Jorge Andrade, Ricardo Carvalho, Paulo Ferreira;
Petit, Tiago, Hugo Viana;
Quaresma, Hugo Almeida Cristiano Ronaldo.
www.abola.pt
Sick team, I'm happy to see Hugo Almeida starting, and Cristiano and Quaresma playing I think Quaresma should play on the left, and Ronaldo on the right, oh well we'll see!
Forca Portugal!
March 24, 2007
Euro 2008 Qualifying
Scolari announces the team most likely to play.
Ricardo;
Miguel, Jorge Andrade, Ricardo Carvalho, Paulo Ferreira;
Petit, Tiago, Hugo Viana;
Quaresma, Hugo Almeida Cristiano Ronaldo.
www.abola.pt
Sick team, I'm happy to see Hugo Almeida starting, and Cristiano and Quaresma playing I think Quaresma should play on the left, and Ronaldo on the right, oh well we'll see!
Forca Portugal!
Portugal has to solve the up-front striker problem. Gomes can do it, but he's not as young as he used to be (and I'm guessing he's injured). When is Vaz Té going to develop?!
England lack a leader - Berkovic
England have lacked leadership since the axing of David Beckham, according to former Israel star Eyal Berkovic.
Beckham has not played for his country since relinquishing the captaincy after the World Cup and ex-West Ham star Berkovic believes his absence is behind their recent struggles heading into tomorrow's crucial European Championship qualifier in Tel Aviv.
'He's their leader - there is no doubt about it,' Berkovic told BBC Sport.
'England have a lot of good players at the moment but they don't have a leader on the pitch.'
Beckham was rumoured to be in line for a recall until he picked up a knee injury playing for Real Madrid.
England have not won in their last four games and lost top spot in qualifying Group E after October's defeat in Croatia.
Berkovic believes manager Steve McClaren was wrong to omit Beckham from his squads upon taking over from Sven-Goran Eriksson.
'It was a big mistake to leave him out,' said Berkovic.
'Any England side will miss Beckham, he has been a big part of the team for the last 10 years.
'I think they miss his free-kicks and corners - they are the best in the world and in modern football it is very important to have a player like that on the pitch.
'Every time he gets the ball, something is likely to happen.'
Berkovic, who will be honoured on the pitch tomorrow to mark his retirement from football, believes Israel are capable of causing an upset.
'Both teams are not in good shape at the moment,' he said. 'Both didn't win their last game.
'England have some suspensions and injuries and they cannot find the right team at the moment.
'Israel are at home so they have a chance to beat England. And Israel know they must win the game because, if they don't, it is all over for them.'
Berkovic believes England's failure to score in three of their last four games proves they have problems up front.
He said: 'In the English team, I think the weakness is in attack. Since Alan Shearer and Michael Owen, they haven't found a striker that will score on a regular basis.
'Wayne Rooney needs support in attack and at the moment they cannot find it.
'Tal Ben Haim has made a big improvement and he is a key man in the defence for Israel.
'There will be no problem for him despite what happened last Saturday when he played for Bolton against Rooney and Rooney was man-of-the-match.
'This is a different game and Rooney is now playing for England, not Manchester United. Tal will be a key man and he will be okay.
'Defensively, England will miss Ashley Cole but in Rio Ferdinand and John Terry they have the perfect pair. Every national team in the world would be happy with this pair.'
Israel have suspension and injury problems of their own, with Bolton midfielder Idan Tal, as well as striker Roberto Colautti and midfielder Yaniv Katan all banned.
West Ham's Yossi Benayoun (knee) is an injury doubt but is expected to captain the side tomorrow.
Berkovic said: 'Yossi Benayoun is the leader - when he plays good the team play good, but when he is not at his best the team struggles.
'In the last few games, he has come to Israel injured and I'm not sure about this time.
'After Yossi, Idan Tal is the main key in midfield and Israel will miss him.'
England have lacked leadership since the axing of David Beckham, according to former Israel star Eyal Berkovic.
Beckham has not played for his country since relinquishing the captaincy after the World Cup and ex-West Ham star Berkovic believes his absence is behind their recent struggles heading into tomorrow's crucial European Championship qualifier in Tel Aviv.
'He's their leader - there is no doubt about it,' Berkovic told BBC Sport.
'England have a lot of good players at the moment but they don't have a leader on the pitch.'
Beckham was rumoured to be in line for a recall until he picked up a knee injury playing for Real Madrid.
England have not won in their last four games and lost top spot in qualifying Group E after October's defeat in Croatia.
Berkovic believes manager Steve McClaren was wrong to omit Beckham from his squads upon taking over from Sven-Goran Eriksson.
'It was a big mistake to leave him out,' said Berkovic.
'Any England side will miss Beckham, he has been a big part of the team for the last 10 years.
'I think they miss his free-kicks and corners - they are the best in the world and in modern football it is very important to have a player like that on the pitch.
'Every time he gets the ball, something is likely to happen.'
Berkovic, who will be honoured on the pitch tomorrow to mark his retirement from football, believes Israel are capable of causing an upset.
'Both teams are not in good shape at the moment,' he said. 'Both didn't win their last game.
'England have some suspensions and injuries and they cannot find the right team at the moment.
'Israel are at home so they have a chance to beat England. And Israel know they must win the game because, if they don't, it is all over for them.'
Berkovic believes England's failure to score in three of their last four games proves they have problems up front.
He said: 'In the English team, I think the weakness is in attack. Since Alan Shearer and Michael Owen, they haven't found a striker that will score on a regular basis.
'Wayne Rooney needs support in attack and at the moment they cannot find it.
'Tal Ben Haim has made a big improvement and he is a key man in the defence for Israel.
'There will be no problem for him despite what happened last Saturday when he played for Bolton against Rooney and Rooney was man-of-the-match.
'This is a different game and Rooney is now playing for England, not Manchester United. Tal will be a key man and he will be okay.
'Defensively, England will miss Ashley Cole but in Rio Ferdinand and John Terry they have the perfect pair. Every national team in the world would be happy with this pair.'
Israel have suspension and injury problems of their own, with Bolton midfielder Idan Tal, as well as striker Roberto Colautti and midfielder Yaniv Katan all banned.
West Ham's Yossi Benayoun (knee) is an injury doubt but is expected to captain the side tomorrow.
Berkovic said: 'Yossi Benayoun is the leader - when he plays good the team play good, but when he is not at his best the team struggles.
'In the last few games, he has come to Israel injured and I'm not sure about this time.
'After Yossi, Idan Tal is the main key in midfield and Israel will miss him.'
Portugal v Belgium
March 24, 2007
Euro 2008 Qualifying
Scolari announces the team most likely to play.
Ricardo;
Miguel, Jorge Andrade, Ricardo Carvalho, Paulo Ferreira;
Petit, Tiago, Hugo Viana;
Quaresma, Hugo Almeida Cristiano Ronaldo.
www.abola.pt
Sick team, I'm happy to see Hugo Almeida starting, and Cristiano and Quaresma playing I think Quaresma should play on the left, and Ronaldo on the right, oh well we'll see!
Forca Portugal!
March 24, 2007
Euro 2008 Qualifying
Scolari announces the team most likely to play.
Ricardo;
Miguel, Jorge Andrade, Ricardo Carvalho, Paulo Ferreira;
Petit, Tiago, Hugo Viana;
Quaresma, Hugo Almeida Cristiano Ronaldo.
www.abola.pt
Sick team, I'm happy to see Hugo Almeida starting, and Cristiano and Quaresma playing I think Quaresma should play on the left, and Ronaldo on the right, oh well we'll see!
Forca Portugal!
He's on a wave at the moment. Hope he'll score. I liked him from his first games for Werder...
Hmmm... I like his choice of the defensive line. And the offensive wing situation was always going to be the sickest in the world ... it's nice to see it finally taking root. But it looks like he's hoping that Viana and Almeida come up big, but they'd have to out of generally no where. I suppose when duty calls... Still, it's a real risk. A lot is riding on Viana and Almeida.
Portugal has to solve the up-front striker problem. Gomes can do it, but he's not as young as he used to be (and I'm guessing he's injured). When is Vaz Té going to develop?!
Portugal has to solve the up-front striker problem. Gomes can do it, but he's not as young as he used to be (and I'm guessing he's injured). When is Vaz Té going to develop?!
Vaz Te isn't the only potential striker we have, Portugal has Yannick Djalo, Ivanildo, and Bruno Gama.
