World Cup Betting: Plenty of problems for Portugal to deal with

Teams / Ben Lyttleton / 06 April 2010 / Leave a comment Free £25 Bet

Liedson is under big pressure to perform at the World Cup after being controversially drafted into the side during qualifying

A poor qualifying campaign, a couple of key injuries and not getting the best out of Cristiano Ronaldo right now are just some of the problems Carlos Queiroz has to deal with, as if being in the "Group Of Death" wasn't bad enough, says Ben Lyttleton.

"But their qualifying campaign produced more questions than answers while Queiroz has clearly failed to win over his players who prefer the more laid-back approach of his predecessor Luiz Felipe Scolari. Fans even booed the team in their March friendly against China in Coimbra."

Benfica's 1-0 win over Sporting Braga last weekend practically tied up the league title for them, set to be their first since 2005 and only one for 15 years. After coming from two goals down inside ten minutes to beat Assoaciao Naval 4-2 last night as well, Benfica are now six points clear with five games still to play and, after beating Liverpool 2-1 in the Europa League quarter-final first leg, they are ([2.22]) to reach the semis and ([7.0]) to
lift the trophy.

And so it comes as some surprise that the Portugal squad at this summer's World Cup might not contain a single Benfica player in it: yes, much of the side is South American, and the world's audience will be able to see talents like Angel di Maria (Argentina), Ramires (Brazil) and Oscar Cardozo (Paraguay) but there has been some head-scratching at coach Carlos Queiroz's decision to ignore the claims of two key players.

Goalkeeper Quim has enjoyed a superb season domestically and in Europe, but has had no call-up as Queiroz prefers to pick Chelsea's Hilario as back-up to Eduardo, so the first-choice need not fear for his place; while left-back Fabio Coentrao has been in excellent form but still cannot dislodge Malaga's Duda in that position.

It is not only a tough draw alongside Brazil, Ivory Coast and North Korea that explains the pessimism around the Portugal team's supporters. FA president Gilberto Madail's public demand that Portugal improve on 2006's fourth-placed finish. But their qualifying campaign produced more questions than answers while Queiroz has clearly failed to win over his players who prefer the more laid-back approach of his predecessor Luiz Felipe Scolari. Fans even booed the team in their March friendly against China in Coimbra.

The coach's biggest decision has been to pick the recently-naturalised Liedson at centre-forward, allowing Cristiano Ronaldo to go back to the wing in a 4-3-3 system, or just behind him in a 4-4-2, which Liedson prefers. Critics claimed it was a sign of just how desperate Queiroz had become to find a scorer. He is also set to play Pepe, the Real Madrid centre-back out injured for most of the season, in a midfield alongside Raul Meireles and Deco.

Two players who could have had a major impact for the team will be missing in South Africa through injuries: right-back Jose Bosingwa, whose place will be taken by Paulo Ferreira, and Porto's in-form left-winger Varela, who broke his leg in March. Unsurprisingly, that will heap more pressure on Cristiano Ronaldo, whose recent performances for Portugal have been better than usual. But don't be lulled into thinking that "CR9" can convert his prolific Real Madrid performances onto the international stage: he is ([26.0]) to finish top scorer but his last international goal came against
the Czech Republic at Euro 2008.

Anything less than a win against Ivory Coast in their opening game ­ Portugal are [2.58], the Ivorians [3.1] ­ could make life difficult as this is a team whose morale is clearly on a fragile footing: there is also the small matter of a potential Round of 16 tie against favourites Spain. So while Portugal's campaign may be full of incident (and controversy too), it may not be especially long. Not that Benfica fans will be that bothered.

Tags: Cristiano ronaldo, Portugal World Cup team, Simao Sabrosa, World Cup bets, World Cup teams