Team: Portugal

Last chance saloon for 'Golden Generation'

Team Selector

Choose a team... Germany Poland Ecuador Costa Rica England Sweden Paraguay Trinidad & Tobago Argentina Holland Ivory Coast Serbia & Montenegro Portugal Mexico Angola Iran Italy Czech Republic USA Ghana Brazil Croatia Japan Australia France Switzerland South Korea Togo Spain Ukraine Tunisia Saudi Arabia

Run the rule over all 32 finalists using the above drop down menu

Coach: Luiz Felipe Scolari
Captain: Luis Figo
Winners: Never - finished third in 1966
Pitted against: Mexico, Iran and Angola
Prospects: Talented bunch who believe they have what it takes
Odds: 20-1

Has the Scolari-England affair disrupted Portuguese preparations for the finals? Debatable really but still, the players cant be too enamoured by the fact their gaffer was close to walking. Now that he's not, 'Big Phil' is schmoozing the Portuguese big wigs for an extended, meatier contract once his current one expires after the finals. Good hurling from Gene Hackman's twin who, some claim, is poorly paid for his services, writes Paul O'Hehir

Having steered his native Brazil to glory in Japan & Korea, Scolari knows what it takes to succeed at this level. Now, three years into a stint with his adopted nation, can the same be said about his current crop of players? Having lifted the World Youth Cup in 1991, this is last chance saloon for what's left of the 'golden generation' to fulfil their potential and sign off on a high. But we've heard this before, of course.

Figo, Petit, Rui Costa et al crashed spectacularly four years ago when stumbling to embarrassing group defeats against South Korea and the United States. And, of course, they never made it out of the group. That appearance was, somewhat surprisingly, those players' first stab at world domination as Portugal's previous appearance was back in Mexico '86.

The ensuing fall-out saw then manager Antonio Oliveira fall on his sword and, consequently, pave the way for Scolari and a new wave of players like Manchester United's Ronaldo, who, it has to be said, has been told to "grow up" by his Brazilian manager. The remoulded side flexed its muscles when hosting the Euro 2004 finals but having done the hard work by reaching the final, they fell at the last when losing 1-0 to outsiders Greece in a dour showpiece.

Still smarting from that embarrassment, Portugal are now keener than ever to deliver and the swashbuckling manner in which they dissected their qualifying group en route to Germany has made the rest of the world sit up. Unbeaten after their 12 games, Scolari's side finished seven points clear of Russia and striker Pauleta - yet to prove himself in a major tournament - eclipsed the legendary Eusebio's record of 41 goals.

"Portugal can reach the final, but I don’t like to demand from my players much more than what they have already achieved," Scolari said recently. "After reaching a certain level, then I can ask a little more from them. Portugal are currently among the ten best teams in the world, so I can expect the team to achieve a place among the top eight. Only then we can take another step towards the top."

Meanwhile, the country is, according to reports, hoping to encourage more women to support the team and have launched a project called "The World’s most beautiful flag". The plan is to use some 15,000 women to form a human flag in the country's National Stadium and, as the federation says, is an opportunity for single males to date women who like football. Whatever next?.

World Cup Squad

Goalkeepers: Ricardo Pereira (Sporting), Quim Silva (Benfica), Bruno Vale (Estrela Amadora)
Defenders: Paulo Ferreira (Chelsea), Miguel Monteiro (Valencia), Ricardo Carvalho (Chelsea), Fernando Meira (VfB Stuttgart), Marco Caneira (Sporting), Ricardo Costa (Porto), Nuno Valente (Everton)
Midfielders: Armando Petit (Benfica), Costinha (Dynamo Moscow), Tiago Mendes (Olympique Lyon), Maniche Ribeiro (Chelsea), Hugo Viana (Valencia), Luis Figo (Inter Milan), Deco (Barcelona), Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United), Simao Sabrosa (Benfica)
Forwards: Luis Boa Morte (Fulham), Pauleta (Paris ST Germain) Nuno Gomes (Benfica), Helder Postiga (Saint Etienne)