Cristiano Ronaldo has been in sensational form this season

Wingers may be a luxury many teams can ill afford but Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari will always find space for them. With Cristiano Ronaldo, Simão, Ricardo Quaresma and Nani to call on who can blame him?

Supply line
Much of Portugal’s hopes rest on the young shoulders of Ronaldo, scorer of eight goals in qualifying and heir to Luís Figo who retired along with Pauleta after the 2006 FIFA World Cup. It is credit to Scolari that neither of them have been particularly missed and with those wingers providing a steady supply of chances the lone striker in the preferred 4-2-3-1 formation, be it Nuno Gomes, Hugo Almeida or Ariza Makukula, is almost guaranteed opportunities.

Depth
Portugal can switch to 4-3-3 or 5-4-1 depending on the situation, with another option the 3-4-3 formation Scolari favoured when his Brazil team won the 2002 FIFA World Cup. The latter certainly solves one problem as the left-back berth was an achilles heel throughout qualifying, with Marco Caneira, Jorge Ribeiro and the versatile Paulo Ferreira all failing to make the position their own. Luis Miguel and Bosingwa are far more settled on the opposite flank, while Ricardo Carvalho, Jorge Andrade, Ricardo Costa, Ricardo Rocha, Bruno Alves, Pepe and Fernando Meira are all competing for places at centre-back. Scolari may be grateful for the strength in depth as all are susceptible to injury.

Makukula impact
In midfield, young guns such as Miguel Veloso and Raul Meireles are putting pressure on old stagers Costinha and Maniche for the holding midfield role. Deco’s place in attacking midfield is more assured should he stay fit, though Tiago and João Moutinho are waiting for a chance like that enjoyed by Ariza Makukula against Kazakhstan in October. The Kinshasa-born forward came on at 0-0 and scored the opening goal in a 2-1 win with six minutes remaining to keep Portugal on course for UEFA EURO 2008™.