Football United

A new era in Portuguese soccer will commence on Saturday as Portugal will attempt to qualify for the 2006 World Cup minus national heroes Luis Figo and Rui Costa. Their opponents will be Latvia, who are out to prove that qualifying for Euro 2004 was no fluke.

Portugal:

The Euro 2004 finalists will also be without defender Fernando Couto for their next two matches. The Lazio defender has not officially retired from the national team but was not included in the squad that will face Latvia on Saturday and Estonia on Wednesday.

The absence of Couto, Figo and Rui Costa means Portugal will have a new captain. Manager Luiz Felipe Scolari has decided to name Pauleta and Costinha as co-captains. The two of them will alternate the captaincy from match to match.

Scolari has a squad of 20 healthy players to choose from. Deco and Miguel are currently training apart from the rest of the squad but are expected to be fit for Saturday. Miguel is expected to be on the bench for Saturday’s match but could be in the starting lineup on Wednesday for the match against Estonia.

Latvia:

Marian Pahars is reportedly struggling with an injury and may start this contest on the bench. Earlier reports had suggested that the Southampton striker was fit enough to start, but that is not the case.

Latvia are expected to pack the midfield and hit Portugal on the counter attack.

Previous Encounters:

These two nations have met just twice, with Portugal winning both matches convincingly.

Probable Lineups:

Latvia (4-4-2): Kolinko; Stepanovs, Zemlinskis, Isakovs, Zirnis; Astafjevs, Bleidelis, Laizans, Runis; Verkapovskis and Prohorenkovs

Portugal (4-3-3): Ricardo; Andrade, Carvalho, Nuno Valente, Paulo Ferreira; Costinha, Mancihe, Deco; Simao, Cristiano Ronaldo and Pauleta

Players To Watch:

Verkapoviskis: The Dynamo Kiev striker is always dangerous and the Portuguese defence will have to pay close attention too him. If he manages to get in behind the defence a few times, than it could be a long night for Portugal.

Cristiano Ronaldo: He is being hailed as the next Luis Figo. With the Real Madrid Legend out of the national team, this could be Ronaldo’s time to shine.

Source: Goal.com