Eliminated Switzerland provide the final first-round opposition for Group A winners Portugal on Sunday but coach Luiz Felipe Scolari allowed himself to look beyond this assignment and admit he dreams of ending his reign as Portugal coach on a high by leading the team to the European title.

Final dream
Speaking for the first time since the announcement he would be leaving his post at the end of UEFA EURO 2008™ to become Chelsea FC manager, Scolari denied that the timing of the news had had a disruptive effect – "no" was the one-word answer – and stressed he was committed "body and soul" to success with Portugal in Austria and Switzerland. "I am completely involved to the end," he said. "I hope we can get to another final. We have only cleared the first round and have to get over two more hurdles to get to the final. I know my players and I believe in them – it would be great if we could get to the final."

Strength in reserve
With tougher tests ahead, the Brazilian said that he would rest a number of players against the co-hosts – with forward Nuno Gomes "99.9 per cent" certain to be one of them. "If we have quality on the bench we should use it in the match. The result will not affect who we play in the next round. We will do what we did in 2006 [against Mexico] – we had a mixture of players who had played and others who had not played – so they can get into a rhythm and be available to play in future matches."

Kuhn praise
Portugal won that FIFA World Cup group match 2-1 against Mexico and Scolari’s counterpart Köbi Kuhn believes that whoever starts for the opposition, an "attractive match" beckons. "You can never talk about a Portugal B side," said the Switzerland coach, who believes the Portuguese, impressive winners against Turkey and the Czech Republic, can go far – "maybe even to the final". While Scolari can still hope for a triumphant farewell with Portugal, Kuhn’s own dream of a prolonged challenge in his final tournament at the helm died with Wednesday’s last-gasp loss to Turkey.

Swiss goal
Despite the pain of elimination, Kuhn insisted Switzerland were determined to sign off in style in front of another full house at St. Jakob-Park. "We feel the same tension we do for any match. The tournament still has 90 minutes to run for us," he said. Without a point, Switzerland are resigned to the wooden spoon in Group A but they do have one tangible goal to aim for: claiming their first win in the UEFA European Championship, having drawn two and lost six of their eight finals matches down the years.

Zuberbühler recall
With Kuhn’s seven-year reign as Switzerland coach closing - Ottmar Hitzfeld is waiting in the wings – the 64-year-old admitted that, for once, his selection might be influenced by a touch of sentiment, with a recall "quite possible" for 37-year-old goalkeeper Pascal Zuberbühler among others. Kuhn, though missing Alexander Frei and Marco Streller, does have Eren Deriyok available, the young forward having recovered from a sprained ankle suffered against Turkey.

Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has dropped a big hint that he may be accepting the Chelsea job after Euro 2008…

Big Phil will leave his post after Euro 2008, but has done his utmost to disregard talk of his future until the tournament is over.
Having led the Portuguese to semi-finals and finals fairly consistently, Brazil’s World Cup winning manager will be hoping he can go out with a bang, particularly after having made a good start against Turkey on Saturday, winning 2-0. This evening, they face the Czech Republic in their second game, with a win guaranteeing them qualification.
However, between the two games the press have speculated that the coach has already agreed a deal with Chelsea behind the scenes, despite public claims his future would not be discussed until after the tournament.
The Blues sacked Avram Grant at the end of the season following his failure to bring home any silverware, though they came very close to both the Premier League and Champions League titles.
The club have faced criticism from all quarters for their treatment of the Israeli and have been turned down by Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti and 2006 World Cup winner Marcello Lippi - and there are unverified rumours a few other rejections - in their search for a new manager. Recently dismissed former Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard remains a favourite, though sacking his former assistant, Henk ten Cate, has led many to believe he is out of the running.
During yesterday’s press conference, Scolari intimated that he was ready for a new country and a new challenge, leading many to believe he will be taking up the Chelsea job, having already been linked with the Manchester City post, now of course filled by former Blackburn Rovers boss Mark Hughes.
“For the atmosphere, for the love of Portugal, it will be difficult to leave, but I’m a professional and I have lived everywhere in the world. I am ready to live in a different country,” declared Scolari.
“I have a contract with the Portuguese Federation and I will fulfil that. Afterwards, we will see what happens.”

After a perfect debut in the European Championship, Pepe is already looking for more.

In his first international appearance in a major competition, Pepe scored the go-ahead goal in Portugal’s 2-0 victory over Turkey and was chosen the man of the match. The central defender couldn’t have asked for a better start, but he wants more.

“I have to keep working hard with my teammates,” Pepe said Sunday. “I want to give even more happiness to Portugal.”

Portugal plays the Czech Republic on Wednesday in Geneva, then Switzerland four days later in Basel, and another victory in one of the two Group A matches should be enough to get Portugal through to the second round. The Czechs beat Switzerland 1-0.

The 25-year-old Pepe, who was born in Brazil and plays for Real Madrid, had only three matches with Portugal before Saturday: two warm-up games for the European tournament and the final qualifier against Finland.

“I have never felt more Portuguese than I’m feeling today,” Pepe said. “Portugal gave me everything and I needed to make my retribution.”

Pepe’s defensive prowess is what led him to a multimillion dollar transfer from FC Porto to Madrid in 2007, But on Saturday he showed at Stade de Geneve that he has other skills to offer.

In the 61st minute, Pepe stole a ball near midfield and quickly connected on a passing combination with striker Nuno Gomes. Then Pepe sped past defender Emre Asik to the ball inside the penalty area and sent a right-footed shot into the net.

“This is one of my characteristics: I like to attack any time I can,” Pepe said. “I kept believing until the end on that play because I knew it could work.”

In the first half, Pepe had already displayed another one of his strengths, rising high above the Turkish defenders and heading in a corner kick in, but the goal was disallowed for offside.

“In the first goal I thought I was on, but I didn’t let it affect me and kept working to help the team,” he said.

Pepe was seen pumping up the Portuguese fans just before the final whistle, raising his arms and asking for their support. After the match, the softly spoken defender said he could “hardly describe” his emotions over his first international goal.

“I’m not only happy for the goal,” Pepe said. “I had a great match and that’s also important.”

The debut should finally put to rest any doubts whether he should start for Portugal. He said before that he was fighting for a spot with Fernando Meira and Bruno Alves, with Ricardo Carvalho the first choice in central defense.

Pepe never made it in Brazilian soccer and was barely known in the country before moving to Portuguese football at age 18. He only gained notoriety after moving to Maritimo in 2001, eventually joining Porto and helping the team win the 2004 Champions League and World Club Championship. He helped Madrid win this season’s Spanish league title.

Coach Luiz Felipe Scolari and playmaker Deco are the other two Brazil-born members of the Portugal squad at Euro 2008.

Portugal is trying to repeat the successful campaigns at Euro 2004 and the 2006 World Cup. The Portuguese finished runner-up to Greece at the last European championship and reached the semifinals of the World Cup in Germany, losing to France.