Thaindian News

Lviv (Ukraine), June 8 (IANS) Portugal’s top star Cristano Ronaldo believes that his side has the capacity to upset the tournament favourite Germany in the Group B opening match here Saturday night.

“Yes, we will play against some great favourites like Germany and Holland who can win the competition, but Portugal can be a surprise. We will have a good start tomorrow,” the 27-year-old was quoted as saying by Xinhua in the pre-match press conference here Friday.

In their last two high-profile meetings from the 2006 World Cup and Euro 2008 finals, Germany won both and looked to complete the hat-trick winning streak against the opponent at Lviv Arena.

“For me, they are one of the strongest teams. I know their strength is as a strong unit. Everybody knows what to do in the moment. They have few weak points,” added Ronaldo, the Real Madrid’s winger.

The two traditional powers are going to play against each other for the 17th time. In the previous records, Germany gets an upper hand with eight wins, five draws and three defeats.

Portugal’s head coach Paulo Bento said his side worked very hard to reach here and will show their capacities.

“We know as you know, they are a very strong offensive team. There are very few moments we can benefit from.

“They are very precise in the pass play. They always gain the ball. Then we have to be very quick to take our chances.”

The coach admitted that the only thing he was unsure about his side Saturday was whether his winger Nani could overcome the injuries to play.

“Nani had a difficult and intense season. The injury made him miss some group training but he joined in on Thursday. So we will only see tomorrow if he can play or not. But there are other players we can have on the pitch. Having a solid reserve is a must, that’s my philosophy.”