Our Mission…thank you Angola

Angola’s fantastic effort to hold Mexico to a nil – nil result, this afternoon, has changed the numbers in group D considerably. Portugal now has an excellent chance to book a spot in the R16 with one game to spare, anything less will be disappointing. Scolari and co. will be well aware that Portugal has not had this kind of opportunity since 1966, exactly forty years ago. We know that ‘66 is a tall mountain to climb, but if we intend to reach our goal of world champions, then we must surpass that legacy.

Iran will put up a fight, but I hope we can get our offensive rhythm going now that Deco and C. Ronaldo have had some rest. I have argued the merits of being able to hold 1 – 0 games, but tomorrow’s mission should be to turn on a little style. We need to see that one touch circulation that Argentina showed today. We need to see Ronaldo’s speed on the wings and faints into the box. We need to see a tight compact back four and we need to see Pauleta feeling good. Independent of the score, I want to see the Lusitanian version of ‘jogo bonito’, just enough to quiet the critics in the press box and gel the team work on the pitch.

So that’s our mission, a solid victory but with just a little more style and ‘força’. It’s important that we use just the right of amount of energy to defeat our opponent. We want to make a statement, but we don’t want to burn the candle too brightly. We have some tough trials ahead, Mexico then Holland or Argentina – a gut check if I ever saw one.

We have the right tools and the right manager so let’s get down to business. We can achieve great things if we have the right ‘attitude’. How do you like that Luis Paulo? That one is for you.

Força Portugal!