Scolari tips Spain
Scolari tips Spain
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Saturday, 17, Jun 2006 12:23
Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has said that he thinks Spain will win the World Cup.
Scolari, who turned down the job of England manager two months ago, said that after the first batch of games had been played, Luis Aragones' team had impressed him the most.
However, there was no mention of Argentina in his analysis, despite them winning both their opening games including the 6-0 mauling of Serbia and Montenegro.
"It is still a bit early to tell and you have to wait a few more matches to identify clear favourites but judging from the first couple of matches you have to note the following: Spain, Italy, England, the Czech Republic and Brazil have certainly caused some attention," Scolari said.
"(Spain) are favourites for the title as they are very well managed and have great organisation on the pitch."
A win for Portugal against Iran today would see them qualify for the knockout stages with a game, against Mexico, to spare.
Scolari's side ground out a 1-0 win over Angola in their first match with the goal coming from the country's most prolific goalscorer, Pauleta.
However, much of the attention on the Portuguese squad has been focused on Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo and he came in for some criticism after the match against the Africans.
The coach insists that Ronaldo is fine but he had to be managed carefully to make sure he wasn't exposed to too much pressure.
"The whole world expects him to play exceptionally but he simply has to do what he always does and play with the team," Scolari added.
"At the last European Championship, he was a reserve, and now he is a starter so we just have to guide him through things he has not yet encountered before."
Playmaker Deco, who missed the game against Angola, is expected to be fit to face Iran after recovering from a foot injury.