International Preview: Portugal - Faroe Islands
What: International Friendly
Who: Portugal (FIFA ranked 9) vs Faroe Islands (FIFA ranked 196)
When: Wednesday, 20th August 2008, 21:45 CET
Where: Estádio Municipal de Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
Portugal come into this game on the back of a disappointing Euro 2008 campaign, while the Faroe Islands will be hoping to get the most out of this match.
New Portugal Era
The end of Euro 2008 brought a major change to the Portuguese national squad: former Manchester United assistant manager Carlos Queiroz was installed as coach, replacing Luiz Felipe Scolari, who had signed for Chelsea prior to the competition.
This is the second stint of Queiroz at the helm of Portugal after an unsuccessful experience that ended in 1994 when he failed to take the team to the FIFA World Cup in the United States.
Queiroz is now hoping for better fortunes and has selected a 22-man squad for this friendly match with several surprises.
Several big-names have been left out of this match, such as Ricardo Quaresma, Ricardo, or Maniche. Portugal’s goal should be defended by Benfica custodian Quim, who missed Euro 2008 after sustaining a wrist injury.
The new Portugal boss also decided to not include hot prospects such as Miguel Veloso or Rui Patrício, both from Sporting, in his plans for this friendly.
Portugal have a lot to prove after a disappointing Euro 2008 campaign and Queiroz will have the difficult task of making his men forget Scolari, who was in charge for five years and took the squad to a second-place finish at Euro 2004 and a fourth-place finish at the World Cup two years later.
This will be a very important task for Queiroz ahead of the start of the 2010 World Cup qualifying, where Portugal will have to come up against the likes of Sweden and Denmark.
Faroese Dream
The Faroe Islands, coached by Jógvan Martin Olsen, should play a very defensive game, hoping to break Portugal down through counter-attack.
They finished rock-bottom of their group at the Euro 2008 qualifying without a single point and a -39 goal difference. This time around Faroe Islands were drawn in Group 7 of the World Cup qualifying and will have to play the likes of France and Romania.
This will be an important test for Olsen’s men against a squad that feature better and more experienced players, which is why the Faroe Islands are expected to pose little threat to the Portuguese side.
FORM GUIDE
Portugal
19/06/08 Portugal 2-3 Germany (Euro 2008)
15/06/08 Portugal 0-2 Switzerland (Euro 2008)
11/06/08 Portugal 3-1 Czech Republic (Euro 2008)
07/06/08 Portugal 2-0 Turkey (Euro 2008)
31/05/08 Portugal 2-0 Georgia (Friendly)
Faroe Islands
04/06/08 Faroe Islands 3-4 Estonia (Friendly)
16/03/08 Faroe Islands 0-3 Iceland (Friendly)
21/11/07 Faroe Islands 1-3 Italy (Euro 2008 Qualifier)
17/10/07 Faroe Islands 0-5 Ukraine (Euro 2008 Qualifier)
13/10/07 Faroe Islands 0-6 Iceland (Euro 2008 Qualifier)
TEAM NEWS
Portugal
Coach Carlos Queiroz will have to come up with an alternative to Cristiano Ronaldo, who has been a crucial piece for Portugal but will miss this game due to injury.
Eduardo and Danny will have the chance to earn their first international cap for Portugal’s main squad. Carlos Martins, Manuel Fernandes, Antunes, Duda and Daniel Fernandes all make their return to the squad.
Squad
Quim, Eduardo, Daniel Fernandes, Bosingwa Paulo Ferreira, Ricardo Carvalho, Bruno Alves, Fernando Meira, Pepe, Antunes, Miguel, Deco, Raúl Meireles, Duda, Carlos Martins, João Moutinho, Manuel Fernandes, Simão Sabrosa , Nani, Danny, Nuno Gomes, Hugo Almeida.
Faroe Islands
Coach Jógvan Martin Olsen is without veteran defender Óli Johannesen, who has over 80 caps for his national squad.
Squad
Jákup Mikkelsen, Rene Tórgarð, Jónas Þór Næs, Jóhan Troest Davidsen, Egil á Bø, Fróði Benjaminsen, Leif Niclasen, Einar Hansen, Høgni Madsen, Atli Danielsen, Mikkjal Thomassen, Chr. Høgni Jacobsen, Andreas Lava Olsen, Jákup á Borg, Símun Samuelsen, Christian Lamhauge Holst, Arnbjørn Hansen, Rógvi Jacobsen.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Portugal - Deco: With Cristiano Ronaldo out of this match, the Brazilian-born midfielder is expected to command the team and guide it to victory. The former Barça star pulled out a magical performance in his official debut for Chelsea and great things are expected from him under Carlos Queiroz.
Faroe Islands - Rógvi Jacobsen: The Faroese midfielder has 50 international caps to his name and is the squad’s top goal-scorer so he will be a player Queiroz will have to look out for.
PREDICTION
This should be a walk in the park for Portugal, who need to earn a boost ahead of the opening World Cup 2010 qualifying against Malta in September. The Faroe Islands are anything but a big gun and should found themselves lost amidst the Portuguese creativity.
Portugal 3-0 Faroe Islands
Ref From Luís Mira - goal.com
