Preview: Portugal-Estonia
In Sport, the term 'group leader' is rarely associated with the country of Estonia. But that’s not an error you see in the group 3 standings, Estonia is indeed topping the table after winning two consecutive qualifying matches. But it would take a brave soul to bet in favour of them maintaining their winning streak when they travel to Portugal on Wednesday.
Portugal looked very convincing in their 2-0 win over Latvia on Saturday and are confident they will walk away with all three points from this encounter with Estonia.
But this Estonian side is relatively up beat at the moment following their victories over Liechtenstein and Luxembourg and will be looking to carry this momentum into Wednesday’s match.
Team News:
Portugal:
Left fullback Nuno Valente sustained a serious knee injury during Wednesay’s victory over Latvia and will miss out on this match. FC Porto officials are not best pleased with the National team at the moment as their player will be forced to miss the club’s domestic season opener as well as their opening match in this season’s Champions League.
Sporting Lisbon’s Rui Jorge will be inserted into the starting eleven as a result of the injury. Once a regular in Portugal’s starting eleven, Rui Jorge has not started for Portugal since June 12, when Portugal last to Greece in the Euro 2004 opener.
Estonia:
Manager Arno Pijpers will be unable to count on one of his most experienced players for this match, as Andrei Stepanov because of an injury he suffered while playing domestically for Torpedo Moscow. However, Estonia were without Stepanov for their victory over Luxembourg on Saturday and are hoping their back line can be as equally effective yet again.
Estonian playmaker Martin Reim has picked up a yellow in a previous match and could miss his country’s next match if he is booked against Portugal. Nonetheless, expect Reim to start on Wednesday.
Previous Encounters:
Portugal has never lost to Estonia before and has outscored them 13 to 1 in a total of four matches. Their most recent encounter came during the 2002 World Cup qualifying with the Portuguese winning 3-1 and 5-0.
Players To Watch:
Cristiano Ronaldo was Portugal’s man of the match against Latvia on Saturday. Look for him to be even better against inferiror opposition on Wednesday.
Goalkeeper Martin Poom has faced the Portuguese before but with little success. The former Derby County goalkeeper will need to play out of his skin if Estonia are to have a chance of winning.
Probable starting lineups:
Portugal: (4-3-3)
Ricardo; Rui Jorge, Paulo Ferreira, Carvalho, Andrade; Costinha, Deco, Maniche; Ronaldo, Simao and Pauleta
Estonia: (4-5-1)
Poom; Allas, Jaager, Piroja, Rooba; Kristal, Reim, Viikmae, Teever, Lindpere; Zahovaiko
Source: Goal.com
