Hugo Almeida feels he has done his part to earn a starting spot with Portugal at the European Championship.

Now, the Werder Bremen striker needs to convince coach Luiz Felipe Scolari.

"I’ll try to give Scolari a hard time choosing his starters. It’s all I can do," Almeida said Monday. "It’s up to him to make his decision."

Almeida will compete for a spot with forwards Helder Postiga and Nuno Gomes.

"My main goal was to be here," Almeida said. "But I worked hard during the season and with the national team so I can get a chance as a starter. I’ll fight for my opportunity."

Almeida, who has played only nine international matches with Portugal, believes his lack of experience may be a reason he hasn’t been given a chance as a starter.

"We know this counts in these decisive stages," the 24-year-old Almeida said. "Nuno is an experienced player and has this edge."

As a striker who likes to play inside the area, he said he would be a perfect fit for a squad which has wingers such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Nani, Simao Sabrosa and Ricardo Quaresma.

"They are all excellent crossers and can put the ball in area," Almeida said.

The striker played in the second half of Portugal’s 2-0 victory over Georgia on Saturday in the team’s final warm-up match. Almeida has until Saturday — when Portugal opens against Turkey in Geneva in Group A — to prove his worth.

"I want to play, of course, and I’ll do everything I can to get my chance," Almeida said. "And when I do, I’ll try to show that I deserve a place among the starters."

He and his teammates arrived in Switzerland on Sunday to begin the final stage of preparations before the competition begins. The Euro 2004 finalists will also play the Czech Republic on June 11 and co-host Switzerland on June 15.

Almeida says a win in the opener against Turkey will be crucial to make things easier the rest of the tournament.

"It’s a key match," he said. "If we don’t win, we’ll end up having to find ways to recover."

Hugo Miguel Pereira de Almeida (born May 23, 1984 in Figueira da Foz) is a Portuguese football centre forward who currently plays for Werder Bremen in the German Bundesliga, as a powerful and pacy forward with few technical skills.

Football career

Almeida started playing football for hometown club Naval 1º de Maio, before being spotted by FC Porto. Unable to settle at first, he had loan spells with União Leiria and Boavista, returning in 2005-06 to be an important part on a side that was crowned national champions.

Almeida served another loan stint in 2006-07, with an impressive debut season at Werder Bremen, tottaling 10 goals in 41 appearances (all competitions). After seeing his chances at Porto definitely cut down with the arrival of strikers Edgar and Ernesto Farías in August 2007, he decided to accept Bremen’s offer for a permanent switch, penning a 4-year deal worth 4 million €. With the departure of Miroslav Klose, who signed for FC Bayern, Almeida’s chances of first-team action improved dramatically, and he started 2007-08 in scoring fashion, netting 7 times in his first 12 league games. He would finish the season at 11, only surpassed in the team by Diego and Markus Rosenberg (13 each).

International career

He played at every level in international competitions, from the Under-15 to the main Portuguese national team. He made his debut for the national team in a friendly match against England on 18 February 2004, in a 1-1 tie.

He was part of the Portuguese team that won the 2003 Toulon tournament, also appearing at the 2004 and 2006 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship finals.

Almeida was called for Portugal’s final three Euro 2008 qualification matches. He started against Azerbaijan and scored his first international goal. He also scored in the follow-up, a 1:0 win over Armenia. These goals proved vital, as Portugal clinched a tournament spot.