Home
Clubs
Fixtures/Results
Bwin Liga
Portuguese Cup
Champions League
UEFA Cup
National Team
Portuguese Abroad
Player Profiles
Euro 2008: Portugal v Switzerland
Your pre and post match verdict
Two matches, two strong performances, two wins. After Portugal’s perfect start and early qualification for the quarter-finals, how should Scolari approach the final group match against Switzerland.
Should the Brazilian make wholesale changes? We want your predictions and your reaction to the match.
Join the discussion using the form below.
match kick-off: 15/06/2008, 20.45 CETPortugal v Switzerland - Your verdict
Your Say Euro 2008 special
New topics will be added throughout the duration of the tournament. If you have a topic to suggest drop us an e-mail at euro2008@portugoal.net.
Euro 2008 general
Portugal v Czech Republic - Your Verdict
Portugal v Turkey - Your Verdict
Who are your tournament favouites?
Scolari: Portuguese football hero or overrated?
Pick Portugal’s perfect attack
Pick Portugal’s perfect midfield
Pick Portugal’s perfect defence
Would you like to contribute with an opinion article? If so please send it (400 words max) to fanszone@portugoal.net.
Next topic: Portugal midfield
Home . Clubs . Liga . Portuguese Cup . Champions League
UEFA Cup . National Team . Portuguese Abroad . Player Profiles
© Copyright of PortuGoal.net 2003-2008. Design addSymbol
This site is optimised for Internet Explorer
General
- Your Say Home
- World Cup 2010
- Portuguese Clubs
- Portuguese Abroad
- Euro 2008
- World Cup 2006
- Site suggestions
- Will Queiroz lead Portugal to glory?
- Portugal at Euro 2008: Final appraisal
- Corruption scandal: decisions made
right or wrong?
19/06/2008 21:29
SORRY WRONG PAGE.. EXCUSE THE LAST POST
19/06/2008 21:26
Clearly the German's outplayed us today, they attacked every weak point we had & finished incredibly.
Sure there were some niggly calls & it seemed like the Germans had the ref, but it is no excuse for having tons of chances & missing by miles.
Collectively many players had their worst game. Ricardo was picked apart for his inability to handle crosses. Ferreira was on the end of every goal. Petit was garbage & giving away free kicks in dangerous areas.
Scolari actually said before the match that we would have trouble with set pieces & the Germans height. That is why he fielded the shortest team we have, must be rocket science.
Some moron on the Fanszone can see the gaps but yet a professional coach getting paid millions & has two years to figure something out, clearly was out coached by a guy in the stands.
See set pieces are all down to coaching, & repetitive practicing, Loew passed, but it was beyond Scolari. It was like taking candy from an ugly ass baby.
The starting roster, & substitutions for the most part all tournament were retarded to say the least.
I realize that some will say we should've had a penalty in the first half, we were onside for a goal called back, and Ballack pushed off on Ferreira but let's face facts we did not deserve to tie that game, we were masterfully out coached, & it is something that this young team has to learn going forward. We have another 10 yrs w/ these talented players, best part Scolari won't be there!
Forca Portugal
16/06/2008 21:40
Rick dude you have to organize, manage, & delegate.
I thru that huge BBQ & watched the whole game outdoors underneath the gazebo with tarps in my Rocker MegaBass chair, I had everything timed loads of cheeses & appetizers from all over Europe hitting the table just before the game. Fortunately we were covered well because we got severe thunderstorms but we were still all out their under the tarps watching it.
Then post game we fired up the BBQ which I initially unloaded to my broinlaw as I hit the stove to handle most of the rest of the dishes again from all over Europe, I flagged everything so they knew where it was from, they all loved it. I think I even turned some people on to some great food.
Here was the fun part, I joined my broinlaw, my fiancee at the BBQ under a huge patio umbrella, in the middle of some crazy lightening & downpours of rain. My Fiancee was holding the umbrella as we both worked the grill, & she helped with one hand. We literally got drenched but I had some old classic porkchop tunes a pumpin & we were Xtreme Grilling, it took us a couple of hours in the t-storm but it was fun, lol.
All in all everyone had a great time & I had to load them all full of takeout plates as we made way too much, because of the weather about another 20 didn't show but we still had 30 people, so I was pleased. On a side note both mine & my broinlaws unwashed winning jerseys got hosed down in the T-storm maybe that was the big guys way of telling us to wash it. lol
16/06/2008 21:23
We need to be on top of our game against the germans , yes they are a pale shadow of their former self but they are the type of side that can frustrate us.
We need strong performances from everyone, i think we have the talent to beat anyone and in Ronaldo and Deco we have two of the best players creating that little bit of magic that can win games.
Please let Big Phil practise defending from set pieces over the next couple of days !!!
Strap yourselves in people , things are going to get interesting.
16/06/2008 21:13
Of course the game meant little or nothing. But i think Sandra from UK summarized it well, This B team had a chance to prove why they belonged in the lineup or as sub option. Not many did. Many of you had wanted to see most of these guys in the lineup, and most proved that they dont belong yet.
Scolari has chosen whom he believes to be the best options for winning. I was surprised that he decided to make such a stark change to lineup, but if there were any major injuries, he would've been crucified. I would have preffered to keep positive momemtum.
On another note, we had backyard BBQ like I had mentioned but because I was the host, I barely got to see game live. Too much time on grill duty! I should just order some chinese food next time.
16/06/2008 21:10
Alex makes a great point, that the B squad never plays together for the most part. So their lack of cohesion is understandable.
I still think the Swiss are a good team that is young & has reinforcements from their youth squad coming to add to their already young & talented squad. Since they play more as a unit they were more successful on the day, but I think the Swiss player on the first goal was more offside than Postiga, but the Austrian ref & officials were clearly 3rd class.
I also think when you substitute one or two players into the squad the affect is much different than when you make wholesale changes, so no need to fret too much about the performance, we had the luxury of losing, which was well deserved by the squad.
Jorge clearly you are joking, Ferreira tries hard but is too slow, a team player but has a penchant for howlers.
As for some of the Nani detractors, besides his immaturity the guy does pretty well for someone that doesn't see much first team football, just imagine if he had as much time to practice his skills as Quaresma? Ferguson will iron out the wrinkles in Nani as he did with Ronaldo, all to our Team's betterment, most of these guys still have 10 to 12 years together, Rome wasn't built in one day.
Now on to a classic, Portugal v Germany, wow, I think with allot of hard work we can be successful by frustrating the Germans with ball possession, leading to some great goals. This game is a real treat for the football fan.
Forca Portugal
16/06/2008 19:25
Mind you some of our players looked like complete crap but lets focus on why the team didnt look as cohesive as the first team. The B team hasnt played together like our first team giving them no time to gel, it looked like a qualification match and i chalk our good form in this tournament up to time on the training pitch getting more practice time together. A lot of our subs havent played a competative match since there seasons where over. regardless i think Nani was a diving baby up to this point i was thinking to myself of how little diving there has been in the tournament so far and then nani shows up. quaresma wasnt as bad as people think he was....his crosses were excellent something simao has been lackluster in doing while his dribbles werent as effective as they can sometimes be he seemed to be playing less selfishly drawing two or three defenders and trying to open up space for postiga or whoever to pass only to find no one around. i think had ronaldo been on the other wing he would have drwn less defenders and had more of the ball to impress. paulo ferreira was foolish postiga was more of a presence than gomes but his lack of playing time this year was evident by his poor finishing not including that nice goal that he didnt score (thanks ref). miguel was sloppy. and i think scolari picked the wrong ribeiro what a joke. i would have like to see rui patricio because im sick of ricardo's mistakes
16/06/2008 18:23
Nani was the worst player on the pitch. I can't take much more of his whinning and touching of other players. He is always looking like he is going to get red carded or cry. Foolish player. Poor judgement. Great speed and footwork with no finish.
16/06/2008 18:18
Would have obviously preferred a win, but not a big deal. What matters more is that all players are healthy. The game did reveal that the "B team" is not anywhere near the same level as the starters. In my view, there wasn't a single player (maybe Nani)who worked his way into the starting line-up.
Should be an interesting Germany/Austria game. An Austria victory would be nice, but unlikely.
Forca!
16/06/2008 17:26
Paulo Ferreira will be the hero of the tournament for Portugal.
16/06/2008 16:06
After watching this game, I have now come to the conclusion that Quaresma should not be starting. For months I was calling for Nani orQuaresma instead of Simao but Quaresma hasn't showed me anything positive, if Nani can mature I hope to see him starting in the World Cup.
I finally give you some credit Scolari.
16/06/2008 15:53
portugals back up players tried to hard to prove scolari their worth for starting XI, which ended up unworthy. there were too many mistakes and too much individual quality. the only players did well was the defense and postiga. lets hope portugal continues to play like they played vs czech republic.
viva portugal
16/06/2008 15:47
Postiga and Miguel were the worst players on the pitch. How many headers on goal can one player miss? And the first swiss goal was Miguel's fault he failed to push up on the offside trap and as a result Yakin was onside with a clear opportunity on goal. I also agree with Orlando the middle of the field lacked offensive creativity and bite, and it showed on the scoreboard.
16/06/2008 15:22
Agreed Orlando, a change of system would have been good .
Here is an good article on Deco
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/columnists/gabriele_marcotti/article4144294.ece
16/06/2008 15:18
Lots of good points but I still expected more from our B team but we must move on. I'm sure some of the individuals on the B team when called up to fill in will be okay because there is some quality except at the striker and left back position unless Scolari decides to play Miguel there.
I'm glad for the objective comments on Nani, I like Nani but he is giving our country a bad name with all the diving. It is foolish and silly and SAF will provide tough love to Nani for this boy to grow up.
Moving on to Germany, Orlandomac is right that Portugal does play Germany tough -- the WC game was not a good data point as we had less rest from the semi-final to Germany plus they were at home. We also had Carvalho suspended on red cards for that game.
A lot of these games are match ups and our style of play does create some challenges for the Germans. If the Germans get their act together they will pose some challenges especially down the flanks and at the top of the box where they play efficient passing and movement soccer that frees up their strikers for runs in the box in good position to score. I have a lot more to stay about this game later but Croatia showed that a back 4 and defensive midfield playing organized and holding shape can counter this attack. Our favorite whipping boys Ferreria and Petit will need to be at their best as Germany will go after them.
16/06/2008 14:32
Peter I was calling for a 4-4-2 all game, Merieles was useless ther better to have moved him out and put Almeida up front with Postiga the only draw back to that is Postiga rarely passes, Nuno Gomes is well suited for that roll and I think would be effective laying up balls to on rushing players, and he also plays better with his back to the net.
Sandra I agree with everything you said.. but Nani didn't have that bad of a game except for the rolling around on the floor (another reason why Ronaldo should go to Madrid, so that Ferguson could slap that attitude out of him quicker). He contributed with timely passes and came close a few times, not to mention he should have got a penalty shot when he clearly beat the defender to the ball to be brought down late at the line.
Considering they had no one to distribute the ball thru the middle until Moutinho came in I thought it was a decent display.
16/06/2008 12:55
Phil should have used the game to try out Miguel at LB and maybe play a 4-4-2 system , he would have got more out of the game that way .
It was hard for the players , whatever they did they new that the likes of Deco , Petit and Ronaldo would be straight back in , but i feel that they could have more to give scolari a headache in terms of team selection.
Still let's put the game behind us and look forward to Thursday !
FORCA
16/06/2008 12:26
I didn't see the game, but from what I hear, and read here, it appears accurate. Look at this way, even with Portugal's half-ass attempt, they still could have beaten Switerzland, if it hadn't been for some bad calls. The "B" team is fine, I'm sure Scolari said "play hard for 45-60 minutes and then after that, make sure you don't get injured." The win was more for Switzerland a nice gift for their fans and Kuhn, who had his last game as the Swiss boss. Honestly, I wouldn't invest too much in what did or din't happen.
FORCA PORTUGAL!!!!
16/06/2008 06:47
These Subs had 90mins to prove us what they could do and the only thing they proved is they should never be considered as the 1st option.Quaresma put a couple of good crosses wasted by Postiga.But overall his finihing is poor overdribbles,loses the ball a lot .Nani poor finish as well,didnt seem to be able to stay on his feet...embarassing!Yes, the referee didnt help but this no excuse.We should have done better...God forbid if we loose our key players for injury...
16/06/2008 06:08
As for Quaresma let us give him a modicum of praise. I never seen him pass so much, but he was still garbage & made too many mistakes, being completely ineffective.
As for Miguel he is not out of form-Scolari, his give & goes with Nani were again a hilight. He is out of form, but Deco, Postiga, Petit, Ferreira who have rarely played for their clubs are all in form..lol
Miguel played way more games for Val then the others.
I thought his destruction of the middle was to prove that his squad selection was right, he figured tho with Meira & Veloso in the middle that it wouldn't cost them, just that they wouldn't score with Postiga & Merieles... his error.. the Refs..lol
incompetent, and couldn't get a job in our 3rd division let alone a tournie of this magnitude, fortunately it was worth absolutely nothing.
Not that it cost us anything.. but he should still remove at least two players from the squad for a Germany or Austria game.. those being Petit & Ferreira w/Meira & Miguel brought in there place.
As for we haven't faired well against Germany that is completely false, only in the last 3rd place game have we not faired well, every other game over the last decade we have dominated even the ones on German soil, they had lots of help in the rest.
Now I am not trying to discount Germany because I rate them, but if we play our game their back four are extremely weak. Our side has the easier road for sure on the way to the Final.
16/06/2008 05:50
Let's just clear up a few things
Scolari is slightly retarded what was that starting line-up yes it was most of mine but look down the middle where it counts most, I had Almeida, Moutinho, Veloso, Meira, Alves.
What is Merieles as your attacking Mid about? Even the subs were off.
Postiga once again had the most opportunities & failed to get any in, 2nd string is he?
But let us get it clear Portugal won this game, the offside called on Postiga was atrocious, he was offside if you missed the Swiss guy 10 feet in front of him, and Meira was offside but was not interferring with play.
Then Nani being tackled without the ball in the box is not a goal kick it is called a penalty shot, unless you are some 3rd rate crew from the legendary Euro league of Austria, they lashed out yellow cards on every missed tackle. There was a reason they were refing a meaningless game (because UEFA wouldn't trust them with a real game).
Is that an excuse of course not we had enough opportunities wasted thru our own accord, and should have walked away easily.
But many thought the Swiss were weak & they proved quite a challenge to the deserting offensive players. We were continually pillaged in the 2nd half, no excuse for that but laziness.
Many thought we had a weak group but wait until you see the Turks take out Croatia easily, you will see that our group was not so easy when they dominate the Semis.
As for the B Team if played properly is capable of winning the tourny.
15/06/2008 22:33
Disapointing game for portugal reminds me of qualifying days!!!
My ratings:
Ricardo 9/10
Ferreira 4/10
Pepe 8.5/10
Alves 6.5/10
Miguel 7/10
Meireles 7/10
Veloso 7.5/10
Quaresma 7.5/10
Nani 6.5/10
Meira 8/10
Postiga 8/10
Moutinho 7.5/10
Almeida ???
Ribeiro 7.5/10
very poor performance by the portuguese very poor i hope we dont play like this vs germany if it happens
15/06/2008 21:03
Our B team showed why they are on the B team today. I don't care if this game meant nothing in terms of Euro 2008 but it should have meant enough to the players to make a showing. The referee was horrible but the players were worse. It looked like a Euro 2008 qualification game by the way we played. The same themes we saw in qual came up today.
Quar once again showed why he is frustrating to watch and is "challenged" in all areas of the game. We want this guy to succeed because it is important to our national team and for Quar's best but he came up short. Nani was okay and had his moments. No reason to replace the steady and critized Simao. It is more a case of the understudies not stepping up.
Paulo Ferreira was a disaster again being out of position and with a foolish yellow card. Some may use being on the left as an excuse but he is just an average defender.
Ribeiro showed why I've said he is a time bomb in half a game. He was terrible and has no place on this team. Benfica will have buyer's remorse once the season starts.
Miguel is a better player but has been out of form this year and showed why. We could have used a in form Miguel on the left side.
Postiga had his moments but he should have done better with his finishing.
Overall, I expected more from our players and am dissapointed by the showing. Lets move on to the final 8!
15/06/2008 10:20
Hi Ramos!
Carvalho will leave England, if Inter and chelsea came to some sort of agreement.Ronaldo is still being chased by Real Madrid,and now things have turned ugly beetween these 2 clubs.
As for the National team Zico did show interest in coaching us but the rummors are that was Rijkaard who was approched ...
15/06/2008 01:53
Yeah I just read that a good chunk of starters will be rested. I'm scared shitless of Germany, we haven't faired well against them in recent memory, hopefully this changes. Deco to chelsea, Veloso to Milan and I heard Man Utd are interested in Veloso as well. Ricardo Quaresma is supposed to be heading to Inter Milan. Barca are interested in Moutinho. This is what I've heard so far. If you have anything else let me know.
14/06/2008 16:22
Since there isnt much to talk about, I thought some transfer rumors would be fun....
MILAN, June 14 (Serie A) - AC Milan general manager Ariedo Braida has admitted he would like to see Portugal midfielder Miguel Veloso at the San Siro in the future.
14/06/2008 10:14
A couple of hours ago i read that Scolari is planing to play the subs against switerzland.We should win that easily but like most here the game that i'm concerned about is the one against Germany.
I know they were poor against Croatia but they are capable of a lot more...It's going to be a huge test for us...
14/06/2008 04:04
its interesting to see so few posts for this upcoming game. I truly believe that due to the fact that we've already qualified and there is not much to complain about, mosts fans dont have anything to say. Think about it, if mosts chops arent complaining about something, then they are either sleeping, eating, or dead! its in our nature to find the negatives...
14/06/2008 00:34
btw I created a new country called Camada
14/06/2008 00:33
I think the same starters will start this game. However in the second half there will be whole sale changes. Everyone loves Quaresma, in my opinion he has yet to earn anything for the national team. He's the type of player that will play terribly for 89 minutes and in the 90th minute will supply a beautiful cross to win the game. He's too frustrating to watch when it comes to the national team. His inconsistency and his unwillingness to defend make him a perfect substitute and nothing more. (At least until he changes the aformentioned)
14/06/2008 00:13
Orlando:
Very nice observation about Quaresma an scolari. I thought I was the only one that noticed Scolari was giving Quaresma instructions and Quaresma just brushed it off and walked away.
13/06/2008 22:18
The way Italy ,France and Germany are all struggling at the moment ,i'm just glad we are already in the quarters . Phil to rest Carvalho, Boswinga,Petit,Ronaldo,Deco and Gomes .
I hope we win as it will keep our momentum going.
In a way i'm more interested in finding out who will play in the quarters than beating the swiss !
13/06/2008 21:03
I think scolari should start with Quaresma instead Simao , Veloso instead of Petit and Ribeiro instead of Ferreira
13/06/2008 21:01
2-0 portugal quaresma start plz
13/06/2008 20:57
portugal will let there back up players play, portugal team will now try to win this for scolari.
who will coach portugal now?
13/06/2008 15:10
I never met another Portuguese Orlando.. welcome.. you my evil twin? or am I the evil one?
This should ba an interesting match as I said if I was Scolari I would make wholesale changes as we are already guaranteed of our placement, and see who else is in good form, also evaluate other TEAM players that can be used later. I had suggested Quaresma for a start but in hindsight after he brushed off Scolari when he was trying to coach him the other day, not sure but those actions could have him glued to the bench for the rest of the tournament, we'll see how Scolari has dealt with it behind the scenes.
I am having a huge Euro themed BBQ for my extended family with a buffet of foods from all over Europe. It is also Fathers day so hopefully a victory for my Dad would be nice, as would a victory for Scolari the Team father at moment.
Forca Portugal
13/06/2008 14:06
This is a great opportunity for our young players to shine and show their playing abilities. Let's wind the Euro Cup and dedicate it to Scolari!
13/06/2008 11:51
Scolari will probably bench most of the starters. But i think that the subs will fight for a win because a starting spot is on the line. 1-o to portugal