Scolari pleased with "dynamic" Portugal
Sunday, 08 Jun 2008 11:12
Scolari is pleased to be halfway to qualification for the quarter-finals
Manager Luiz Felipe Scolari was pleased with his side's 2-0 win over Turkey during their opening match of Euro 2008.
The runners up from the last European Championships began their campaign in excellent form, threatening the Turkish goal constantly.
In addition to the goals from Pepe and Raul Meireles they also struck the woodwork three times and had a strike ruled out for offside
However, the thing which pleased Scolari most was the fact that his team was halfway to securing a place in the quarter-finals after just one match.
"We are on the right path," said Scolari.
"We won the match and are 50 per cent towards qualification. We needed six points so 50 per cent after one match is excellent."
Although Portugal played with just Nuno Gomes up front as a lone striker the amount of support he got from Cristiano Ronaldo, Simao Sabrosa and the rest of the Portuguese midfield was impressive.
With
Manchester United's Nani and Porto's Ricardo Quaresma on the bench Scolari is not short of attacking options and he was pleased with how his team had committed themselves to playing attacking football.
He said: "They showed good technical quality and impressive form - they were dynamic and willing to win. I am very pleased to have started with a good victory."
Turkish coach Fatih Terim conceded Portugal had deserved to win the game and said he would now put his team's focus firmly on their match against Switzerland.
"The Swiss game becomes very important for us now. We will improve on where we went wrong here and play better against Switzerland," said Terim.
Portugal will face Czech Republic in their next match in a game that is likely to decide the Group A winners.