Portugal gear up for Euro 2008 with comfortable win

Portugal 2-0 Georgia

Portugal beat Georgia 2-0 in Viseu on Saturday afternoon in their final Euro 2008 preparation match a day before boarding a plane bound for Switzerland. First-half goals from Joao Moutinho and Simao (penalty) rewarded a positive display in which Portugal produced some entertaining and penetrating football.

However, Luiz Felipe Scolari will not be kidding himself. The opposition was weak and Turkey will undoubtedly provide an immeasurably sterner challenge next Saturday.


Euro 2008 Portugal diary


The carnival atmosphere in the sun-drenched Estadio do Fontelo, packed to the rafters, seemed to extend to the Georgia coach, who said pre-match: “We want to give Portugal a good test but it’s important that none of their players get injured. We’ll all be rooting for Portugal in the European Championships.”

He was true to his word with Georgia showing little aggression, although with a packed defence Scolari’s men had to work hard to create openings.

Chelsea full-backs Paulo Ferreira and Jose Bosingwa supplied good attacking support on either flank, Moutinho put in a solid display and Simao and Cristiano Ronaldo, often switching flanks, were a constant threat, although striker Nuno Gomes was largely left to plough a lonely furrow as the central striker.

More worrying for Portugal was the performance of Deco, who still seems to be searching for his best form after a season to forget at Barcelona.

Moutinho magic

His midfield partner, Moutinho, on the other hand, appears to have definitely earned himself a starting berth, and the diminutive midfielder opened the scoring on 19 minutes with a fine strike from 20 metres out.

Georgia then had a lucky escape as Cristiano Ronaldo’s free-kick was tipped onto the bar by Georgia goalkeeper Girogi Loria, and Ricardo Carvalho hit the rebound onto the bar from point-blank range when it seemed easier to score.

Former Benfica idol Simao Sabrosa was looking lively and had already gone close with a rasping shot that just cleared the crossbar when he latched on to a delicious Petit throughball and was brought down by Loria for an obvious penalty. Simao picked himself up and convincingly dispatched the spot kick into the net to double the home side’s lead on the stroke of half time.

The second half saw a plethora of substitutions, breaking up Portugal’s rhythm as Scolari tinkered with straight replacements and different systems.

Quaresma went closest to scoring a third goal when he embarked on a jinking run, created himself some space in the box and thundered a shot against the crossbar.

Nani, Miguel, and Quaresma impressed most in the second forty-five minutes, albeit the last of these three again showing a penchant for individualism that earned a rebuke from the coach after the match.

“I was irritated with some players in the second half who seemed to think they should have been playing from the start. They got hold of the ball and seemed like they wanted to take it home with them. They have to learn this is a team game,” said Scolari, who added that on the whole he was encouraged by the performance, especially in the first forty-five minutes.

It will be a surprise if Portugal do not line up with the same starting XI against the Turks on 7 June.

Portugal:
Ricardo (Quim, 46), Bosingwa (Miguel, 62), Pepe (Fernando Meira, 62), Ricardo Carvalho (Bruno Alves, 46), Paulo Ferreira, Joao Moutinho (Hugo Almeida, 72) Petit (Miguel Veloso, 46), Deco (Raul Meireles, 46), Cristiano Ronaldo (Nani, 46), Nuno Gomes, (Helder Postiga, 62), Simao (Quaresma, 46)

Georgia:
Girogi Loria, Ucha Lobjanidze, Levan Tskitishvili (Irakli Klimiashvili, 46), Rati Aleksidze, Alexander Iashvili (Davit Devdariani, 46), Levan Kobiashvili (Beka Gotsiridze, 46), Zurab Khizanishvili, Malkhaz Asatiani (Amiran Sanaia, 67), Zurab Menteshashvili, Levan Kenia (Revaz Barabadze, 67), Giorgi Navalovski (Giorgi Merebashvili (81)

Goals:
[1-0] Joao Moutinho, 19
[2-0] Simao, 45 (pen)