Portugal Team for 2010 World Cup

One of the strongest teams in the World Cup, Portugal has displayed some of the best football the world has seen in recent years but has continually failed to win a major prize in football. The highlight of the Portuguese Team at the FIFA World Cup came during their first appearance at the World Cup when they reached the semi-final and lost 2-1 to the eventual champions England. This time around a fiercely competitive Portugal aims to go beyond the semi-final with the likes of Christiano Ronaldo, Pepe and Deco at the disposal of Coach Carlos Queiroz.

 

Group favorite Portugal were on the edge of being eliminated after managing only one win from the first five group matches. A remarkable change in the second half of the qualifiers saved Portugal from being eliminated as they won the last four games to earn the play-off spot. The Selecção das Quinas then proceeded to win both games against Bosnia-Herzegovina to secure their berth at the FIFA World Cup 2010.

 

With the 2008 FIFA World Player of the Year Christiano Ronaldo sporting the Captain’s armband, the Portuguese are a confident lot even though he failed to score during the qualification rounds knowing well that his ability lies in rising to the occasion and making a difference where it matters. Apart from their skipper, Portugal has a strong defensive line up with Bruno and Ricardo Caravalho posing a threat to anyone who gets through the mid-field duo Simao and Deco.

 

A former assistant manager at Manchester United, Carlos Queiroz was in charge of Real Madrid in between both his spells at Manchester United and is also credited with discovering talents such as Luis Figo, Rui Costa and Fernando Couto and guiding the Portugal team to FIFA World Youth Championships in 1989 and 1991. He first coached the national team from 1991 to 1993, which was not his most successful period failing to guide the team to either EURO 1992 or the 1994 FIFA World Cup.

 

Portugal secured the third position at the 2006 FIFA World Cup after going through the group stage undefeated and then overcame both England and the Netherlands to reach the semi-finals. The current Portugal team has enough drive and talent to go beyond the semi-finals at the World Cup 2010 to be held at South Africa.

The Pre-World Cup list of players for Portugal is given below.