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Old 2004-06-23, 20:39   Link #188
Scrumhalf
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Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Age: 42
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The Euro 2004 Football Championships.

V



Portugal v England preview
by Alex Livie - Last Updated 23 Jun 2004

England chief Sven Goran Eriksson has no fresh injury worries ahead of Thursday's quarter final with Portugal.

The Three Lions' thrilling win over Croatia set up a last eight meeting with the host nation, but it appeared to come at a cost as John Terry and David Beckham left the field as walking wounded.

However, England skipper Beckham says he is fit and Chelsea powerhouse Terry is expected to take his place alongside Sol Campbell at the heart of the defence.

"I've got a knock on my ankle but it's not a problem," Beckham said on Wednesday.

Eriksson has all of his squad available for the game, aside from knee injury victim Nicky Butt, and he is almost certain to start with the team which kicked off the win over Croatia.

"They are fit, all of them," said Eriksson. "Only Nicky Butt (is out) so it is very good.

"No yellow cards and no red cards and everybody is fit, so it is perfect."

England have looked full of verve going forward and Eriksson will demand a similar display against Portugal, but he will be mindful that the Croats exposed aerial flaws in his rearguard.

Portugal are unlikely to batter at the England door with long balls, rather focusing on the craft of Deco, Luis Figo and Rui Costa.

Pauleta is suspended for the game, which is likely to see coach Luiz Felipe Scolari start with match-winner against Spain, Nuno Gomes.

There are sure to be a number of mini battles all over the pitch, with Gary Neville's clash with Manchester United team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo one of the most intriguing.

The two teams have a recent meeting to draw on for clues, a 1-1 draw in February, but England will not have to worry about goalscorer Pauleta as he is suspended.

Portugal have tightened up defensively since their opening day loss to Greece, but the likes of Ricardo Carvalho and Jorge Andrade will have a new threat to contend with in the form of Wayne Rooney.

The Everton starlet has netted three times in the competition and if he can continue to produce the goods he could lead England to the semi-finals and beyond.

http://www.euro2004.com/

http://www.football365.com/

http://www.soccernet.com/
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