I now present Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo

Goalkeepers: Eduardo (Benfica), Rui Patrício (Sporting Lisbon), Beto (Cluj).

Defenders: Joao Pereira (Sporting), Bruno Alves (Zenit St Petersburg), Fabio Coentrao (Real Madrid), Pepe (Real Madrid), Ricardo Costa (Valencia), Rolando (Porto), Miguel Lopes (Braga).

Midfielders: Hugo Viana (Braga), Joao Moutinho (Porto), Miguel Veloso (Genoa), Raul Meireles (Chelsea), Ruben Micael (Zaragoza), Custodio (Braga).

Forwards: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Hugo Almeida (Besiktas), Helder Postiga (Zaragoza), Nani (Manchester United), Nelson Oliveira (Benfica), Ricardo Quaresma (Besiktas), Silvestre Varela (Porto).

Group B

Welcome to Group B, the Group of Death. The death certainly represents Germany

(You can click on the nation to see the previous posts)

Netherlands

Denmark

Germany

Portugal

History

In 5 tries in both the World Cup and the Euros, the best that Portugal has done is third and second, respectively. Cristiano Ronaldo, despite winning effectively everything for Manchester United and Real Madrid, has won diddly squat with Portugal. So the best player in Europe* has really gone without a single trophy at the highest level. Cristiano Ronaldo qualified for the Euros by finishing in his group second behind Denmark (really? Denmark?)

* Messi is certainly better, though he has also won the exact same number of trophies as Ronaldo for his nation.

The Team

Expect a 4-3-3 with Ronaldo coming up as the top striker. He will also be playing in all the other positions. Paulo Bento stepped in during qualifying to right a sinking ship. Fifa has Portugal ranked 10th in the world and 7th in Europe. Portugal wear red home kits and white with green and red highlighting for their away kit.

Players of Mention

Arsenal Men

N/A

Key Players

Defenders

Pepe

The center back has been a staple with Real Madrid. Might I add that Madrid won La Liga? The 29 year old has 39 caps. He also played with Conetrao at Madrid.

Fabio Coentrao

Madrid and Portugal's left back. He plays with Pepe at Madrid. The 24 year old has 22 caps.

Forwards

Cristiano Ronaldo

He was the most expensive transfer ever. He scored 40 goals in La Liga. He holds the record for most goals in a season in the English Premier League. He is the captain of this squad. He is, quite clearly, the only hope for the Euros. Might I add that he also plays with Conetrao and Pepe?

Nani

Seriously, how does one get referred to by a single name? Ronaldo doesn't even get that*. The Man U player has been a vital part of club and country and will be playing up on the wing and out wide.

*The current Ronaldo, not the good old one.

Euro 2012 Chances

Group of Death mean anything? If they can get past Germany and Holland and Denmark (or at least 2 of them) they will find themselves against one of the survivors of group A. Russia, Poland, Greece, and the Czech Republic are not nearly that scary for Cristiano Ronaldo.

Matches to Watch

Portugal vs. Denmark

This is the group of death, so every single match is a must watch. But if you were only going to watch 1 Portugal game (well, firstly, you are an idiot), you should watch Portugal vs. Denmark. This is a rematch of the series during qualifying. Each side has won once. This one is the match that really matters. That is, if these if these two sides aren't buried by Holland and Germany.

Prediction

Group stage exit

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