The Portugal coach talks exclusively to the Guardian's Euro 2012 Experts' Network about his team's chances against Germany, Holland and Denmark
This article is part of the Guardian's Euro 2012 Experts' Network, a co-operation between 16 of the best media organisations from the countries who have qualified for the finals in Poland and Ukraine.
The Portugal coach, Paulo Bento, did not have the easiest of starts to his tenure. In September 2010, he took over Carlos Queiroz's sinking ship with Portugal having drawn at home against Cyprus (4-4) and lost away to Norway (1-0) in their first two Euro 2012 qualifiers.
Even so, the job of resurrecting the team and steering them through to the finals must now seem easy compared to what awaits in Ukraine: a group of death including Portugal, Germany, Holland and Denmark. That is the toughest group ever to have been drawn together (since Fifa rankings began) with Germany No2 in the world, Holland No3, Portugal No5 and Denmark No10. The cliché that "there are no easy games" has never been truer.
And ahead of Portugal's first game against Germany on 9 June, Bento spoke exclusively to the Guardian's Euro 2012 Experts Network, sharing his thoughts on everything from Cristiano Ronaldo to Roy Hodgson to all of Portugal's opponents this summer.
The first objective for Portugal is to qualify for the quarter-finals. Is there room to think beyond that or is this the only focus at the moment?
Paulo Bento: We set this purpose because it is essential for anything else to happen. This goal is what we have at the moment. First, we are focused on the group stage games and we want to fight for qualification, despite the difficulties that we know we will find against these opponents. Then, if we progress, we will move on to another objective.
The Portuguese league continues to contribute few players to the national team, causing most of the squad to come from other leagues. Does that concern you?
This is the reality that exists and the one which we have to work with. Of course it is a different reality compared to the national teams of Germany, Spain, Italy, England or France, and this changes how we can watch our players in action and how we pick the squad but it is something we have to adapt to.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Pepe and Fábio Coentrão were champions in Spain. Considering the importance of these players in the national team, is this a source of satisfaction for you? Do you think there will be even greater pressure on Ronaldo, looking at what he has achieved this season?
It is definitely good news that all the Portuguese players who are playing abroad can achieve the objectives at their clubs. I do not think there will be more pressure on Cristiano. On the contrary: we don't ask Cristiano to solve all the problems of the national team. These issues must be solved by the group and the better the group is, the better the conditions are for the individual players to shine.
You spoke recently about the importance of the first game, considering that Germany are one of the main favourites to win the whole tournament. What do you expect from this game and what are the strengths of this German team?
I expect a very difficult game, against a team that has few weaknesses. I think the strongest part among the many strengths that Germany have is the transition from defence to attack.
The second game will be against Denmark. Psychologically, facing a team that was in the qualifying group of Portugal and ended up winning it, can that be a negative for your team? What is your analysis of Morten Olsen's team?
I don't believe it will have a bearing on the finals. It is a different competition. We know that Denmark are a good team and that they have great stability when it comes to the coach and the players. Denmark caused us major problems recently in our last two qualifications and of the last four competitive games, we have won only one.
The last obstacle in the group stage will be Holland, always the neutrals' favourites. What are going to be the main dangers of their team this time around?
Holland have a team of high quality, both individually and collectively. They were finalists in the 2010 World Cup and have retained the basis of that team. In qualifying, they only lost the last game and that was when they had already qualified for the finals. They have a style of play they settled on a long time ago, one that relies a lot on possession and movement with their talented players.
England officially presented Roy Hodgson as the new coach about one month before the start of the tournament. From your experience, knowing that you began your career for Portugal with qualifying having already started, is it possible to get immediate success in such conditions?
I think it is a different situation [for England]. It is one thing is to start your job [two matches into the qualifying] and another to start with the finals and have very little training time. In the end, however, you get results depending on the work, organisation and the talent of the players, no matter what has happened before the tournament starts.
Vítor Hugo Alvarenga is senior football writer for Maisfutebol Read More
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