UEFA Euro Team Watch – Portugal

Portugal are one of the favorites in the tournament. The team guided by Ronaldo and with the presence of Moutinho and Nani will be a threat to the opponents. However, being in the "group of death", they will have to fight hard to reach the quarter-finals.

Group B opponents - Netherlands, Denmark, Germany

Past Records in Euro

Not going too far, we take a look at Euro 1984. The competition produced some surprises with Portugal winning the group and finally progressing to the semis, where they were beaten by France in one of the most exciting matches in Euro.

In Euro 1996, Portugal managed to top their group in the qualifying campaign. In the final tournament, they won two and drew one game to eventually reach the quarter-finals where they were beaten by Czech Republic 1-0.

In Euro 2000, Portugal qualified second in the table. In the final tournament, Portugal was placed against England, Germany and Romania. Still they managed to top the group and reached the semis beating Turkey in the quarter-finals. But again they lost to France in the semis with Zidane’s  golden goal.

Portugal was one of the favorite to lift the cup in Euro 2004. They knocked out Spain to reach the quarter-finals of the competition along with host Greece. The quarter-final with England was decided on penalties with Ricardo being the hero of the match. Portugal, then, beat Netherlands 2-1 in the semis but was still unable to capture the trophy with host nation Greece being the surprise package as they won 1-0.

Euro 2008

After the successes of the Euro 2004 and the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Portugal was seen as a major contender to win the Euro 2008, but their qualification wasn't easy. Still they managed to qualify for the final tournament. They won two and lost one in the group stage to reach the quarter-finals. But they were eventually knocked out by the runner-ups Germany by 3-2.

Results

Win Turkey – 2-0

Win Czech Republic – 3-1

Loss Switzerland – 2-0

Euro 2012

Road to Qualification

Portugal finished second behind Denmark and ahead of Norway to qualify finishing second in the table just by goal difference.

                                                                    Probable Line-up

Eduardo

Pereira – Pepe – Alves – Coentrão

Veloso

Moutinho  –   Meireles

Quaresma – Ronaldo(c) - Nani

Most capped Players

Cristiano Ronaldo – 89 caps (32 goals)

Raul Meireles – 56 caps (8 goals)

Nani – 53 caps (12 goals)

Top Goalscorers

Cristiano Ronaldo – 32 goals

Hélder Postiga – 19 goals

Hugo Almeida – 15 goals

Man To Watch

                                                                Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo needs no introduction. He is the one man Porutgese fans will be looking for. The captain of the side and the goal scorer Ronaldo will try the best to win the championship for his national side. He has scored more than 40 league goals this season for Real Madrid and will be keeping an eye on the European title as well.