shoo in

easily to the semis. What happens there is anyones guess, but this is a good team in great form.
- Freddie Footballer

Portugal looks in top form

i'd still like to see CRonaldo playing up top instead of in the midfield but whatever..Scolari knows what he's doing and they're primed to win it all..i'm sure the Dutch will have something to say about it though! -bB

i don't know about group A...

but Group B is a mess. Croatia upset Germany today to virtually assure themselves a spot in the knockout rounds. Germany needs a result against Austria or else they're probably out.
- Freddie Footballer

re:

We finally realized that we have no good forwards so I like the formations we're using (usually just one forward and more midfielders). Vai Portugal! __________ LB23

Quarters

Portugal against Germany in the Q-finals will be fun to watch. I'm not so sure the Germans could be steam rolled. Sure they are in a dip of form, but they are always a dangerous tournament team. Should they beat the Germans, then I think Croatia will end their journey in the Semi's. Key for Portugal are midfielders Deco and Moutinho. Without their control, they wont be able to create for others. I'd like to see more playing time for Hugo Almeida instead of Nuno Gomes. Ronaldo can play anywhere on the field and still be dangerous. For Germany, I'd like to see a strike duo of Kevin Kuranyi and Mario Gomez. M.Klose doesn't do much anymore so I think he's expendable. He's not that great of a Ruud van Nistelrooy-like goalpicker like he used to be. I think B.Schweinsteiger should play on the left with Podolski behind the strikers. Schweinsteiger plays really well with P.Lahm on the left side and should be able to create alot of opportunities.