Bosina is ranked #51 & Cape Verde is ranked #117 & we are ranked # 3 ? I am so disgusted right now. I'm really not looking forward to the World Cup with this team right now. I don't even think we will make it out of the group.

I'm not sure what is worse - the result or Carlos Quieroz trying to defend the performance

people love to kill queiroz but i will give the guy one thing , he does have guts , he did not call ricardo quim , petit and players like that after the euro 2008 debacle , he does attempt to do things that are unconverntional at times like start various players out of position , ie duda , pepe , our team has been in a huge transition period and we still qualified out of the group of death in european qualifying , i don't hear any reporters killing ibrahimovic for not being able to get sweden even into the world cup , imagine that would have been ronaldo , when he first put pepe in the trinco role everybody killed queiroz , noone is saying anything now , it took some time for pepe and the team to get used to it , but the growing pains of it may help us in the future against bigger and physical teams , he was looking down the road and it was a bit of genius and it took guts to do , now i think that the team has the potential of kind of playing like france did in 98 and 2000 , a "50 50" type of style where they used to be very physical in the back but then also played beautiful and creative up front with the likes of zidane and henry

i hate that we only play one striker liedson cant do anything alone he needs someone else who can sitr right behind him simao would have changed that game but i was very happy with nani and coentrao who played with real passion and were the 2 best players carlos martins also would have been better then deco in my opinion but carlos quieroz didnt call him and ruben amorim should have been called before ferriera but i agree miguel should start we attacked the whole game but no clear cut chances i wonder to myself what does the coach do during training to make them play so horrible it seems like theres no passion for the jerseyraul mierieles onc again dissapointed me if we play like this vs ivory coast idk if we will win they really need to work on scoring because our defence is good i hate the coach and cant wait till hes gone because the football we play is horrible i fell alseep for a few minutes watching the game seriously and they should be booed to let them know we want more passion this team is a disgrace seems like they care more bout their clubs then countries and quieroz said the players did what he told them to do plyus ronaldo says we will be better in the world cup well we need to change that now because we have no chance right now playing this way step it up portugal miguel veloso was horrible and im still shocked joao moutinho wasnt called up he deserved to be there way more then raul mierles i hope things can change but i doubt it

Let me point out who played with passion today.

Ronaldo, Nani, Fabio Coentrao, Hugo Almeida, Tiago, Miguel, Danny.

I want to see these players in a starting role next match.

I think Deco, Raul Meireles and the defence played decent. Except for Ferreira who got schooled by a CAPE VERDE player.

Who played like sh*t? Pedro Mendes, Miguel Veloso
Mendes isnt attack minded whatsoever. He sits like a dead leaf in midfield. Tiago can hold the DM just as good as Mendes as well as Attack and keep the game flowing.


Miguel Veloso played awful.. set up Coentrao a few times but trapped himself and constantly lost the ball.

This isnt time for the team to gel. We have 2 matches for f'ing sakes. CQ must take the positives from this match and carry them over to the next.

Eduardo
Miguel----Alves----Carvalho----Coentrao
------------------------Tiago(Pepe's Sub)-------------------
------------------Danny-----------Deco-----------------
Ronaldo---------------------------------------Nani
-------------------------Hugo Almeida---------------------------

Liedson isnt suited. He's only 5 ft 9''. Ronaldo should always take the right. If Nani cant handle the left then Simao starts. If decided to split Danny/Deco between halfs. Then use Raul Meireles.

I would prefer 0-1 to Cape Verde to make the couch yell out and the players to wake up! Better lose or draw now and not in world cup. We are on time to correct bad things and I still believe in Queiroz and in his boys.

Please, don't pressure Cristiano Ronaldo to take the team on his back. To me he's one of the 24. Same player as Zé Castro or Daniel Fernandes. Everybody must work hard and together to achive the objectives!
Vamos Portugal!!!

Many comments here mention there is time for change, as is the opinion with our coach. How many years have the core of this team been playing together? All through qualifying we have had basically the same team... And we're still saying there is time to gel, time to learn how to play as a cohesive unit. Please, let us open our eyes, this team has had years together and CQ has never been able to produce a cohesive unit of players. We have the talent and capability to do well and cause an upset or two, but definately not if we continuue to play in the same manner as over the last 2 years. When last did any of you witness Portugal play a truly inspiring game? What i do hope though is that come the world cup the big stage will bring out the best in our team and the fortunes of our team will change. By the way, talking about time and how long we have for preparations, brazil arrives here in South Africa in less than 48 hours.

I know the game was awful. I watched it from start to finish and was disappointed at the end just like everyone else. However, if they play like crap now and work out all of their problems before the world cup, I'm ok with that.
Here are the positives and negatives:

+ Coentrao looked much better than I anticipated.
+ Nani looked decent on the ball, despite creating few chances
+ The ball rarely went over the midfield line towards Eduardo, and when it did, the defense was on hand to clean up nicely
+ Don't jump on Ronaldo too hard, he was obviously not going all out and that is as it should be. We don't need anymore injuries. Also, he had only worked with them for 2 days before the game.
+ Danny looked good, in my opinion
+ They parked the bus, the plane, whatever you want to say, they played defense the entire game and in the world cup the only team that might do that is N. Korea and even they will have to try to score at some point. (it will be their 2nd game and they'll need points after losing to Brazil)

- The "team" is far from being one cohesive unit, only a bunch of talented individuals.
- Tiago was injured
- We still can't score
- M. Veloso was poor, as was Deco and Liedson
- Quieroz appears to lack a sense of urgency. He just seems to lack the fire that will weld this team into one resilient entity that will be capable of beating the best, let alone Cape Verde.

All things considered, I think the team will improve between now and Monday and we'll see what happens against Cameroon, who so far don't look too good against lowly Georgia.

This was no training match...Q said that to save his ass.
They may have worked hard all week, but this was a real game.

A little peeved, but this is not any different than the China friendly. We slightly played better in the qualifiers and playoffs, but the friendlies have been very disjointed and boring.

Liedson barely saw the ball, and I think Deco has to end his Portugal career as a sub. Coentrao was excellent, but his final balls and crosses need to be better. I'd like to see him up against Kalou or Drogba though. Too bad Bosingwa is injured, would make us a more complete attacking side.

Nevertheless, next week should be an eye-opener. Hopefully Eto'o can cause us some problems and we can be sharper. I'm now expecting us to beat Mozambique 3-0 at least, even if they are better than Cape Verde (that game is like 2 or3 days before the WC starts).

I'm slowly starting to become like my Avo...I've been a diehard Portugal fan since I was small, but now I'm turning into a complete skeptic that realizes the better days have gone past us.

Yes, Tony from CA, too early to be critical. In the past, I have been very critical, but we all need to be stick together as fans and support whenever team shows up in SA. Us Portuguese are always quick to judge and talk bad about the national team. Lets support the team, CQ is the coach, he decides who starts and we should support him.

I've been critical of the NT in the past few years as I think the biggest problem is a lack of quality more than CQ. Very few of the NT are in form for their clubs and many of these players if sold on the market despite some recent analysis would not be worth much. The total transfer market price of Portugal is skewed by a couple of players who would demand a high transfer price but after a few quality players there is a big drop in performance.

We are seeing what life may look like without Pepe and Boswinga who are qaulity players. Pepe in particular is a huge miss for all of those who fell in love in Pedro Mendes (nice role player at mid-club). Paulo F is in American sports what we call soft, he allows himself to be pushed around and is a liability.

Despite these weaknesses and a flawed team in certain positions (midfield CM, striker) the most alarming thing is the lack of cohesion on this team. This is the worse cohesion I've seen in 20 years of the Portuguese NT --- maybe that is where QC is failing mixed in with the questionable quality.

Despite all of this, no time to panic ... there are a few more games to fix this and try to form a cohesive team. Pepe will be the key, if we get him back at least we have cover in the back while we work out the lack of cohesiveness in the attack and midfield. Lets assess things in about 2 weeks and then we will have some indication of what we may see in the WC.

I don't care if this was a training match we should have won this game 6.0 at least.
Cape Verde are ranked something like 137th in the world, a team that have never qaulified for a World Cup and not even the African Nations. This certainly is not the best squad we've had in last 10 years but it still has the potention to reach the qauter finals...but with Queiroz in charge I seriously have my doubts about our chances in the WC next month.

You cant read to much into this game, because the fact is cape verde played with 10 central defenders, which will not be the same case for the ivory coast or brazil at the world cup. But I've said it again and again in the past Ronaldo is not a winger, he is a center foward or attacking midfielder. Again queroiz should use a 4-2-3-1 formation:

------------------------------Almeida-------------------------
Simao-------------------ronaldo-------------------------nani--
----------------danny--------------------------deco-----------
Coentrao-----------carvalho-------------alves-------------miguel

If he uses this formation I can guarantee that the goals will come

Yes it's a training session, so I don't try to get to worked up about it.
Cristiano is obviously taking it easy, so he doesn't risk injury. I can live with that.
What I can't live with is the lack of cohesion. I know that they've only been together a few training sessions, but a few tendencies should have been talked over already.
Liedson seem unsure, and Almeida wasn't much better. I also have to ask, why was Almeida out wide?
Deco didn't do toomuch either, but Danny also failed to impress. Veloso equaled nothing. I thought that Tiago's injury wouldn't matter, but our other midfielders didn't show much.
Our defense seemed fine, but Cape Verde never threatened. Ferreira was ok along the right, and when Miguel came in he seemed hectic. He did attack more than Ferreira, though.
The good news is that Nani seemed fine, and for me the biggest surprise was Coentrao. He defered to Cristiano at times, when he could have taken it and crossed, but otherwise he looked fine. He still is a big worry for me, when we face a quality opponent.
They still need to get their act together, and these matches scores don't mean much, but you would expect us to score vs Cape verde.

As per example, a vilified and messed up Argentina put 5 past Canada. How much did that help in unifying them? A lot.

I hear ya, mate..
No need slag off Liedson's origins. Uncalled for. The rest is spot on. Scolari isn't the greatest tactician who ever lived but at least the team played with some passion, at least that.

I went to watch the game and I knew before the kick-off it would be a training ground exercise of formation and tactics so that players begin to gel together and also test some new players in different positions, so, in that case, I didnt expect WC intensity or blood and guts to be spilled in order to win. However, I was sad at the lack of finishing and the fact we didnt score one goal! preparation is fine, I understand, but so is confidence, routine, and progress, which I saw very little of, a part from great displays via coentrao and nani (irregardless of competition). Almeida/liedson for me were the most disappointing as they were out of the entire game mostly and didnt not seem to work with the unit and game plan as CQ set out to do.
If Tiago is hurt, bring in Fernandes, when he plays, he can be super creative, strong, and has that killer strike, all of which we need as Deco/Danny failed to pull any real creative strings.
Anyways, lets see how the cameroon qualifier goes before hanging ourselves.

Queiroz needs to be slapped in the face with some reality. Seriously, if this was just a training game then why on earth make it a full international match? Surely he would have learnt just as much in a training match behind closed doors where the watching world wouldn't criticize the team and affect our already low moral? Besides, Brazil & Ivory Coast must be rubbing their hands!

What hurts even more is the fact that we actually started most of our so called superstars who just looked like they had never played together and to be honest... didn't care that much! Let's face it, the only player who showed any desire and passion was Fabio and hence he stood out from the rest in a full blooded performance, which not only showed individual skill but most importantly a desire to play with those around him... yes, football is a team game!

Tiago's injury may be a blessing in disguise, as I truly believe he has been over rated for many years now. He is slow, one dimensional and not creative enough to be in our starting 11. Hopefully this will open the way up for Moutinho who I believe has the drive and ability to help this mess of a Portuguese team that we currently have. And let's not forget that he actually plays for his team not for himself as so many of our players demonstrated yesterday!

So... who would I play? Well Queiroz, if you're reading this then let me help you...

First, start and stick with a 4-3-3 formation. If you're unsure what this formation should look like then call Mourinho and he'll explain!

As for the team.. the defense was fine but the midfield needs an engine so please please play Moutinho but most of all we need Ronaldo back out on the right wing with Simao on the left and Nani coming on from the bench!

Finally... let's start with Almeida up front and stop playing that Brazilian (Portuguese Imposter) who just looks wrong!

Ok... that's it... my rant is over!

Good luck Portugal... although I can't see us getting more than a draw against Korea in the group stages! :(

portugal played very well, nani and coentrao were the best players on the pitch,nani definitetly was the man of the match, ronaldo played like crap cause he dont wanna get hurt and risk not playing in the WC but i gotta a feeling he's gonna dominate in the world cup, if he dosen't the only player portugal can count on is nani, he may very well overshadow cristiano and become portugal's go to man, all in all i just hope portugal do better and score goals in their next game, the whole team has to play well togeather and not just look to ronaldo and nani for answers and it also looks like coentrao is another weapon to use, he can be very dangerous to opposing teams and thats great news for us FORCA PORTUGAL!!

OK, we did not score, but we dominated the game, even with 10 men for the last 15 minutes. Coentrao played very well in left back and should be the starter in that position. The main issue in the game was the lack of a play maker.... DECO did not play well. The next friendly will be a good test.

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