Portuguese Football in English
Portugal round off the group phase of their Euro 2016 campaign against Hungary in Lyon on 22 June.
What can the Seleção expect from the Eastern European nation who are back at a major tournament after a 30-year absence?
Hungarian football journalist Tomasz Mortimer tells all.
To state the bleeding obvious, Portugal’s chances of prospering at Euro 2016 increase exponentially if the team can count on the fitness of the team’s captain and talisman Cristiano Ronaldo.
As such, news of the Real Madrid star’s thigh injury has set alarm bells ringing in his home country ahead of this summer’s tournament.
It is no coincidence that at Euro 2008 and the 2014 World Cup, where a physically debilitated Ronaldo was a shadow of his normal self, the Seleção produced their worst performances since Ronaldo broke into the Portugal side and immediately made himself undroppable in 2004.
When the draw was made for the Euro 2016 Austria immediately stood out as the most dangerous team potentially blocking Portugal’s way to the knockout phase.
A record of 9 victories and 1 draw in 10 qualification matches to finish top of with Group G with an 8-point winning margin (ahead of Russia and Sweden) is an impressive calling card going into the tournament in France.
PortuGOAL asked Mario Sonnberger, the national team expert for the Austrian football magazine `ballesterer´ for the lowdown on Austria.
With less than 50 days to go until Euro 2016 kicks off, PortuGOAL will be taking a look at Portugal’s Group F opponents this week.
The Seleção kick off their campaign against tournament debutants Iceland in Saint-Étienne on 14 June.
The Nordic island nation may be newcomers to the European Championship party, but the fact Iceland helped knock out the Netherlands in the qualifying phase should be warning enough for Portugal not to take them lightly.
Icelandic journalist Vidir Sigurdsson describes the euphoria that greeted the nation’s qualification and gives us a brief lowdown on the team.
There was bad news for Seleção coach Fernando Santos today as it was confirmed Portugal’s first-choice left-back Fábio Coentrão will be unavailable for Euro 2016.
The Monaco defender requires surgery on a thigh muscle injury that he picked up in training and which will keep him out of action for a minimum of three months. It is a bitter blow for Coentrão, who had only recently returned to action after breaking a toe earlier this year.
Eliseu and Raphael Guerreiro are now likely to be named at Portugal’s left-backs for this summer’s tournament.
