Portugal Hope To Be Among Top 2 In Group A of the UEFA Euro 2008
Wednesday, 17 October 07, 04:02 AM · Comments(0)
Portugal recently defeated Azerbaijan 2-0 for Euro 2008 group stage qualifying match to improve t0 20 points to share the 2nd place
in Group A with Finland. Portugal’s first goal came from from a corner kick set by Deco and was headed in by Portugal’s keeper Bruno Alves past Azerbaijan goalkeeper Farkhad Veliyev. On the 29th
minute, Azerbaijan captain Aslan Kerimov was given a red card after elbowing Portugal super star Cristiano Ronaldo of English Premier League champions Manchester United. With 10 men down, Portugal was
eventually able to capitalize near the end of the first half when Portugal’s Hugo Almeida was able to stretch a volley from Luis Miguel.
Poland leads Group A with 24 points. However, with only 2 teams from Group A moving on to the Euro 2008 Finals in Austria and Switzerland on June 2008, it looks like the race will be tight between Portugal and Finland.
Portugal hope to improve their record this October 17 with an away match against Kazakhstan. Portugal has beaten Kazakhstan 3-0 back in November 2006, and are confident that they can produce another winning result to give them a full 3 points, and improve their standing to 23, just one behind Group A leaders Poland. Finland was only able to improve their standings by 1 point after drawing with Belgium 0-0. Finland does not have a match on October 17, and won’t have the opportunity to improve their standings in Group A of the UEFA Euro 2008.
Finland’s next match won’t be until November 17 when they host Azerbaijan, and then a crucial match against Portugal on November 21 which might be the defining match to find out if it will be Finland or Portugal who will advance.
Portugal’s will be relying on their star studded line-up to deliver, which includes the likes of Nani and Cristiano Ronaldo from English Premier League champions Manchester United, Deco of Spanish La Liga club Barcelona, and Nuno Gomes of Portuguese La Liga club Benfica. Portugal’s coach Luiz Felipe Scolari won’t be at the bench as he will be forced to watch from the stands to serve the second game of a three-match suspension
To bet on Portugal vs. Kazakhstan and other group stage qualifiers of the UEFA Euro 2008, click here.
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