18 June 2006, by Tom Kundert

Portugal’s confidence on the up and up

The convincing manner of Portugal’s march into the knockout phase of the World Cup has sent the confidence levels of thousands of fans following the team in Germany through the roof.

As the team took to the field for another training session at the Gutersloh stadium today, the 12,000 seats available had been filled hours earlier by ecstatic fans eager to get a closer look at their heroes.

Central defender Ricardo Carvalho echoed the enthusiasm of the supporters, stating that confidence among the group is on the up and the team is close to hitting top form.

“Victories always make us feel better and good performances as well,” said the Chelsea player. “We’re on the right track, even without playing our best, like in the first game. In the second we played better. We feel we’re in better shape than when we arrived.”

Carvalho refused to be drawn on which of his club team-mates he would prefer to face in the last 16 - Holland’s Robben or Argentina’s Crespo.

“They are two very strong teams. It’s not up to us to decide. What we have to do is to finish first to make sure we play the second-placed team.”

“In 2004 we did well against Holland, but now they have other players and are very different. Against Argentina I’ve never played and can’t even remember watching Portugal play them, so who knows…”

Portugal play their final group match on Wednesday against Mexico.