Portugal: World Cup Soccer

Portugal is a team that is ranked seventh in the world and can boast of their three World Cup championships, with a third place position in 1966 as well. However, lately they have been less than thrilling and are really looking to turn things around in the World Cup 2006. The truth is that Portugal is another one of those teams that looks perfect on paper. They have some of the best players, are all-around strong in every area, have a great coach, and fantastic fans. Everything looks as if they should be champions without question. But, they struggle with using their skills and talent to win.

Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the young players that is getting a lot of attention right now. He is a great player that may really blossom in the World Cup. Pauleta is a great scorer, who will likely be one of the Portugal players that really shows up to play and win. Even if the rest of the team slacks, you can bet Pauleta will not. Whether or not his fury will be enough to pull the team through is questionable however.

Luiz Felipe Scolari is the coach of the Portugal team, which is likely a dream come true for the franchise. Right after Luiz Felipe Scolari led the Brazil team to the final win in 2002, he left for the job at Portugal. So, the team is not only full of incredible talent, but they have one of the most talented coaches on their side. The interesting thing is that even with the best players and the best coach around, the team is still not as confident as they should be.

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