Nervy draw triggers celebrations as Portugal make Euro 2008

Portugal 0-0 Finland

Portugal played out a nervy 0-0 draw against Finland to seal their spot in next summer’s Euro 2008. It was nail-biting encounter, to say the least, as there were close calls on both ends and moments where the capacity crowd was left with their hearts in their mouths.

But Portugal came through, as the players and coach had promised they would, to give themselves an opportunity to bring a major trophy home after coming so close in 2004.

Scolari, making his return to the Portugal bench, introduced a new face and new look as Real Madrid defender Pepe made his debut for the national team with Fernando Meira pushing up the pitch, playing the role of a defensive midfielder.

Portugal came firing out of the blocks, as Nuno Gomes fired a Bosingwa cross just over the Finland crossbar in the 8th minute. Three minutes later, Portugal were awarded a free kick just outside the Finland box. Cristiano Ronaldo’s powerful effort forced Jussi Jaaskelainen into a diving save to steer the ball away for a corner.

Pepe goal disallowed

Portugal thought they had scored in the 18th minute when the excellent Pepe bundled a Quaresma free kick into the back of the net, but the goal was called back for a foul on the Finnish goalkeeper by the defender.

The Finns were constantly pinned to their half of the field with Miguel Veloso, Maniche and Fernando Meira doing an exceptional job of marshalling the midfield. Bosingwa was also having a fine match with his bursts of speed down the right flank supplying cross after cross.

Portugal had a scare in the 38th minute when Finnish legend Jari Litmanen found himself free in the Portugal box, but he opted to lay a ball off to a team-mate instead of shooting, allowing Veloso to clear the danger.

Outstanding save

Just before the interval, Portugal almost made the breakthrough as a combination of Ronaldo and Meira redirected a Veloso free kick towards goals, with Jaaskelainen producing a superb diving stop. Kolkka then almost had the Portuguese in tears when his left-footed effort missed the Portugal net by the smallest of margins in the 42nd minute.

Portugal upped the tempo in the second half, laying siege to the Finnish defence. Nuno Gomes came close twice as Cristiano Ronaldo began to cause havoc in the visitor’s defence with his electric runs.

From one such burst the ball was crossed along the 6-yard box with Maniche shooting wide from close range. Quaresma almost got the elusive goal on the hour mark, but Jaaskelainen was again on hand to make a tight save at the near post. Substitute Makukula then came close, heading a Veloso corner kick just wide.

Late Finland pressure

In a frantic last five minutes Finland pumped several high balls into the box and Portugal had two close calls in the 87th minute. First Bruno Alves deflected a cross just past his own post, then from the resulting corner a Finnish forward pounced on the loose ball, turned and fired the ball inches over the bar.

Almost immediately Forssel sent an effort too close to the Ricardo’s post for comfort. The remaining time seemed like an eternity, but the referee finally blew his whistle to the crowd’s delight, guaranteeing that Portugal would be joining Europe’s football elite next summer.

In all fairness, Portugal were the better team for the entire 90 minutes and thoroughly deserve to be at Euro 2008. The team have excelled beyond anyone’s expectation in the last five years and show no signs of slowing down.

All Portuguese fans worldwide will be proud of what the team have accomplished and will be delighted at the opportunity to continue to show their undying support next summer. Forca Portugal!

Portugal:
Ricardo, Bosingwa, Bruno Alves, Pepe, Caneira, Maniche (Raul Meireles, 72), Fernando Meira, Miguel Veloso, Cristiano Ronaldo, Nuno Gomes (Makukula, 77), Ricardo Quaresma (Nani, 85)
Yellow Cards: Caneira

Finland:
Jaaskelainen, Pasanen, Tihinen, Hyypia, Kallio, Kokka (Johansson, 75), Heikkinen, Tanio (Eremenko, 68), Sjolund, Forssell, Litmanen (Vayrinen, 67)
Yellow Cards: Sjolund (39), Hyypia (47), Forssell (61), Pasanen (88)