Group A News

uefa.com wrote:

Petit ready for retirement

Portugal's Petit said he expects to retire from international football after UEFA EURO 2008™ as injuries take their toll on the 31-year-old SL Benfica midfielder.

Time to go
Petit made the announcement at a media conference in Viseu, where Luiz Felipe Scolari's team are preparing for the finals. He said: "We have players with a great future ahead of them in the Portugal midfield, so I think it's time ... this will probably be my last [UEFA] European Championship and my last matches for my country."

Experienced campaigner
If Petit keeps his word, he will be bowing out at his fourth major tournament, having played at the 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cups as well as at UEFA EURO 2004™. Although the former Boavista FC man featured seven times in qualifying for Austria and Switzerland – taking his tally to 53 caps and four goals – he has struggled with knee and thigh injuries this season. His return of 17 Liga appearances for Benfica is the poorest of his nine-year top-flight career. "I have had some complicated injuries but I will be back to my best at the EURO," he vowed.

Revan wrote:I would prefer Moutinho instead of Quaresma.

Playing like we played so many times when we had Figo.

------------------Quim-------------------
Bosingwa-Pepe-Carvalho(c)-Paulo Ferreira
-----------Veloso------Moutinho--------
---Deco------------------------Simao---
-------------Ronaldo---------------------
-----------------------Almeida-----------

this would be my prefered lineup. Or also swap Moutinho for Meireles.

uefa.com wrote:Altintop doubtful for EURO

Turkey midfielder Hamit Altintop suffered a muscle injury in training on Friday and could miss the UEFA EURO 2008 finals, his club Bayern Munich said on Saturday.

Altintop only made his comeback last Sunday in a friendly against Uruguay after a two-month layoff due to a broken bone in his foot, the Bundesliga club said in a statement on its Web site (www.fcbayern.de).

The 25-year-old was examined by the Bayern doctor and could miss Turkey's opening Group A match against Portugal in Geneva next Saturday, the statement said. Co-hosts Switzerland and the Czech Republic make up the group.

record.pt wrote:

Quim deve ser excluído da Selecção
LESÃO NO PULSO COMPROMETE PARTICIPAÇÃO NO EURO

O guarda-redes Quim, que deveria começar o Euro'2008 como o principal suplente de Ricardo, irá deixar de forma definitiva o grupo de 23 jogadores convocados para a prova austro-suíça. A exclusão do jogador do Benfica, noticiada pela RTP1, é motivada por uma inesperada lesão no pulso, contraída no treino de sexta-feira.

Na manhã deste sábado, acompanhado pelo médico Henrique Jones, Quim deixou o hotel da Selecção Nacional para realizar exames na área lesionada numa clínica de Genebra.

Os responsáveis federativos ainda não avançaram com nenhuma explicação oficial sobre a passagem de Quim pela clínica da cidade suíça, nem a gravidade do problema no pulso do guardião, o que deve acontecer a qualquer momento.

True test lies ahead, says Ronaldo

Portugal may have made a perfect start to UEFA EURO 2008™, qualifying for the quarter-finals as Group A winners with a match to spare, yet Cristiano Ronaldo knows things are about to get considerably tougher for Luiz Felipe Scolari's high-fliers.
'More difficult'
Turkey were beaten 2-0 in Portugal's opening fixture in Switzerland before the Manchester United FC winger shone in a 3-1 victory against the Czech Republic which earned the 2004 finalists a last-eight meeting with the runners-up from Group B (currently Germany) in Basel next Thursday. "I'm certain that game after game, it's going to be progressively more difficult," Ronaldo told euro2008.com. "We have to be prepared for this. There have already been surprises. Germany were the favourites against Croatia and Croatia still won."

'Motivation'
The 23-year-old winger confirmed Scolari will seize the opportunity to rest a number of key men when Portugal bring the section to a close on Sunday against a Switzerland side determined to bow out on a high after narrowly losing their opening fixtures on home soil. Starting players or reserves, however, Ronaldo insists the match will not be taken lightly. "Our motivation remains the same," he said. "The players who are coming in are going to give their best as they will want to show Mr Scolari they want to be in the first eleven. I think it's going to be a good game because the majority of the players who will play haven't played yet."