Portugal (A Selecção) in Brazil……..
It’s is a surprise that this nation has been unable to win a major international tournament. They have for some reason or another failed to get results when it mattered. The closest attempt at a major trophy was in 2004, when as host nation, lost the trophy to Greece in the European Championship (Euro 2004).
Portugal is coming into their 6th Fifa World Cup competition with the current Ballon d’or holder, who can be credited for their place in the competition.
It was a rougher qualification journey than most would have anticipated. With a 6-3-1 (W-D-L) record, they missed out on direct qualification from their group, and had to be rescued by their star man; Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Venom
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo is the captain and the star of the team. As the record top goal scorer, he is everything to the Portuguese team. The length of their stay in Brazil will be depending on the Ballon d’or winner. There is not much to say about this player that any fan of the sport doesn’t know. He offensive machine, built to terrorize defenders. His pace and tricks is what brought him all the attention, but his precision is what has brought to him his value. He will most likely be carrying the Portuguese team on his back. If there is any hope of winning a major tournament for the team, this might be the guy to do so.
Helping Ronaldo with the offensive task will be Helder Postiga and Hugo Almeida.
The Control and Support
The midfield has quite a few offensive minded players. Luis Nani is one to watch. The Manchester United man has not been seeing a lot of game action, but he remains sharp when called on to perform.
Luis Nani
There is also AS Monaco’s Joao Moutinho, Fenerbahce’s Raul Meireles, FC Porto’s Silvestre Varela, and Zenit St. Petersburg’s Danny
The Bouncers
Pepe
We are looking at the strong center back for Real Madrid, Pepe. Pepe will be the leader in the back like to keep them organized and tight. Along with his defensive work, is his offensive work with his aerial threat. There is also in the defense, Fabio Coentrao, Bruno Alves and Joao Pereira.
So what is it for Portugal? How will they fare?
They are in a group that can prove to be tricky. Having the Ballon d’Or winner on their side is a big advantage for their advancement from group G. The chances favor the Portuguese team. Their first game against Germany will be a big one. 
It will dictate their approach to the rest of the competition. Securing any point in that game will drastically increase their hopes of getting out of group G as group leader. The advantage goes to Portugal when they face the U.S.A and Ghana.
But as always futbol has its own tricks. There will be some drama, suspense and surprises, and that is why we will have to be watching to see if Portugal will be able to make their advantage count.
