So Cristiano Ronaldo’s name had to be withdrawn from Portugal’s 20-man squad that will be used to play against Cyprus. Besiktas’ Ricardo Quaresma eventually got called up as a replacement for the Real Madrid supersar whereas Toulouse’s Paulo Machado is expected to come in for Silvestre Varela. Meanwhile, Paulo Ferreira has finally followed Simao and Deco as he announced his retirement from the Portuguese national team in August.
With Ricardo Carvalho and Cristiano Ronaldo being the only two names that took part in Portugal’s 2006 World Cup semi-final match against France, there is no doubt that A Selecção is taking a new shape. However, fans are wary about the national team’s future and angry fans have called on Carlos Queiroz’s seat to be occupied by a better coach.
Queiroz led Portugal through a difficult 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign before managing nothing more than a Round of 16 exit at the expense of eventual World Cup champions Spain.
The former Manchester United assistant coach has been blamed for incorrectly using Cristiano Ronaldo’s talent. However, the worst news for Carlos Queiroz is that he has been banned for 6 months by the Portuguese Anti-Doping Authority.
The 57-year-old was accused of obstructing the work 
of the ADA during Portugal’s pre-World Cup training camp. This ban, which Carlos Queiroz has vowed to appeal against, will see the coach miss Portugal’s first four Euro 2012 qualifying fixtures.
The Portuguese FA will hope that these issues won’t distract A Selecção’s team spirit as they look forward to commencing their Euro 2012 qualifying campaign on a perfect note. It’s now up to interim coach Agostinho Oliveira to guide Portugal on a good path against Cyprus.
Portugal and Cyprus are in Group H with Denmark, Norway, and Iceland as well. Cyprus have never participated in the European Championships and who knows if their time has now come? As for Portugal, they seriously need to turn things around. A Selecção haven’t impressed since finishing fourth at the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
Portugal struggled a lot in their last qualification campaign which was meant for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. They even found things tough against Albania, so Cyprus’ poor international competition history won’t be enough for the Portuguese to feel comfortable, if not complacent, ahead of Friday’s Euro 2012 qualifier in Portugal.
Visit the Portugal vs Cyprus Live Streaming and TV Schedule page for further details surrounding this fixture. Portugal vs Cyprus is scheduled to kick off at 1:00pm EST on Friday, September 3.
