Portugal 2-0 Turkey

By Brian Lofrumento | 7th June 2008

Portugal 2-0 Turkey | read this item

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Group A: Portugal 2 – 0 Turkey
Portugal go top of Group A with a straightforward 2-nil win over Turkey. With Nuno Gomes as the only man up top for Portugal they looked weak offensively without creating too many chances. In the second half Portugal attacked more as a trio, especially when Nani came on. Nani, Ronaldo, and Simao were all on the pitch when Portugal carved open their most clear cut chances.

In the back Portugal looked strong, dealing with many Turkish attacks. Pepe looks to be a great “signing” for Portugal (the Brazilian declared himself a Portuguese player instead of playing for his native Brazil). His goal was a perfect example of what Portugal can do at the peak of their powers. Some good ball movement resulted in Pepe being 1 on 1 with the goalkeeper and Pepe slotted it home (perhaps with a little help from a Turkish deflection, but it’s unclear). The second goal came in the dying moments of the game as Ronaldo carved an opening for Joao Moutinho who did extraordinarily well to find Raul Meireles open.

I give Turkey credit, though. I can see them edging second in this group. It will certainly be interesting between them and the Czechs. With experienced professionals like Emre, Turkey have some big players who can perform on this stage. Youngsters like Kazim Kazim (aka. Colin Kazim-Richards) can provide a good spark when Turkey needs it.

Group A isn’t as clear cut as it looks on paper. While Portugal may run away with it as expected, the Czechs might have a hard time getting past Turkey.