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Down-and-out Portugal aims for glory
HindustanTimes.com acquaints you with Group D favourite for World Cup. FIFA Rewind : England, 1966 World Cup | Pics
A trivia to begin with: What happens when four unfancied, lowly rated teams are clubbed together in a single World Cup group?
It creates the least amount of interest among football fans! The only people feeling smug are shrewd employers seeing their work force get back at work.
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| FIFA Ranking | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Portugal - 7th | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mexico - 4th | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Angola - 57th | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Iran - 23rd | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Group D - with Mexico, Portugal, Angola and Iran - looks a perfect fit for the above description.
Punters predict with reasonable confidence, that these four teams with the present bench-strength, have one-in-a zillion chance of earning a place in the last 16.
Even though, on paper, Portugal appear to be favourites, but there current unimpressive run belittles that notion. In World Cup qualifiers it drew 2-2 with Liechtenstein, then narrowly escaped what could have been a huge setback at home.
The only flicker of hope among Portugese fans and coach Felipe Scolari are two amazing talents - Luis Figo and Cristiano Ronaldo. Both have the attacking flair in their maneuvers and are well known for their antics. Their only test: Can they deliver at the big stage?
Mexico, like Portugal, look out of place in terms of performance. On Friday, it lost to a second-string Holland side, which even the Dutch coach described as a 'nice surprise'.
Angola and Iran are the teams that will be lurking in case Portugal or Mexico slip up.
Who to watch:Hugo Viana. The 23-year-old midfielder is the new face in the squad, and was named as the Young European Footballer of the Year.
Who's missing: Center back Jorge Andrade is out while recoverying from a knee injury, while 22-year-old Porto winger Ricardo Quaresma, formerly of Barcelona, was left out for the more experienced Simão Sabrosa and Nuno Gomes.
Head-to-Head»
Portugal has held the upper hand against African minnows, winning the 2 games that have been played till now.
Mark your date: Portugal v Angola, June 12, 0030 IST
Iran has never faced Portugal in a World Cup game or a warm-up match till now.
Mark your date: Portugal v Iran, June 17, 1830 IST
Mexico has never faced Portugal in a World Cup game or a warm-up match till now.
Mark your date: Portugal v Mexico, June 21, 1930 IST
Group E would be reviewed tomorrow.
