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Preview: Portugal's coach Luiz Felipe Scolari won the World Cup in 2002, and will
attempt to a repeat in 2006, albeit with a different team. The former
Bazilian coach leads a Portuguese side that is coming in hot,
winning 9 out of 12 qualifying matches, and is somewhat of a trendy
favorite. Portugal reached the final round of the Euro 2004
Championship, led captain Luis Figo and the then 19 year old Christiano Ronaldo.
The 2006 roster features such stars as the playmaker Deco, striker Pauleta,
and defendr Ricardo Carvalho. Former FIFA Player of the Year Luis Figo
returns for what is probably his last World Cup. In their first round
group, Portugal faces only one major challenge in
Mexico, so more serious
competition should come in round two. "I would say that we are one of
the best eight teams in the world at the moment," commented Scolari.
Result: Coach Scolari predicted a run by the Portuguese side, and the
nation advanced far into tournament. Portugal gutted out tough wins
against
Netherlands
and
England,
before losing to
France
in the semis. If the lowlight of Portugal's fourth place campaign was the
record setting match against Netherlands, the highlight was probably goalkeeper
Ricardo's dominance on penalty shootouts against
England.
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