A high voltage semi final encounter is lined up tonight, as the mighty Spain face off Cristiano Ronaldo led Portugal.
Ronaldo seems to be the common name for the think-tanks of both the teams; Spain consider him to be the biggest threat to their record second consecutive Euro triumph, whereas Portugal looks up to him as the carrier of their Euro dreams.
Ronaldo seems to be the common name for the think-tanks of both the teams; Spain consider him to be the biggest threat to their record second consecutive Euro triumph, whereas Portugal looks up to him as the carrier of their Euro dreams.
Spain come into the semifinals unbeaten, but a draw against Italy in their opener keeps them just behind Germany who has won all of their matches.
However, the team seems to be on a high after their last win against France 2-0, and with Xabi Alonso, Fabregas and Torres singing the same song with 2 goals each, the team definitely seems to be the favorite for the second title.
Portugal, on the other hand lost their first match against Germany, 1-0. But the real concern for the team was the form of their star captain Cristiano Ronaldo, who struggled to score in their match against Denmark, and was the victim of heavy criticism.
But the relief for the Portuguese fans is that, Ronaldo has answered all
of his critics strongly, as he played the captain's role in the team's
2-1 victory against Netherlands, with him scoring both the goals.
Ronaldo was not yet silent, as in their high pressure quarter final encounter against Czech Republic; he was on fire as he launched a spree of attacks, most of which narrowly missed the targets. He was the lone scorer of the match, confirming is claim of being one of the world's best.
As said, Spain is clear of its intention against the Portuguese captain as Spanish coach, Vicente del Bosque hopes his Spain players can "deactivate" explosive forward Cristiano Ronaldo.
"We have to take notice of Ronaldo" he said.
The coach of the other side, Paulo Bento said, "We know what we have to do. We have to put pressure on our opponents and our aim is not to defend all the time. We won't do that against the world and European champions. I think they know we can cause them problems."
Ronaldo was not yet silent, as in their high pressure quarter final encounter against Czech Republic; he was on fire as he launched a spree of attacks, most of which narrowly missed the targets. He was the lone scorer of the match, confirming is claim of being one of the world's best.
As said, Spain is clear of its intention against the Portuguese captain as Spanish coach, Vicente del Bosque hopes his Spain players can "deactivate" explosive forward Cristiano Ronaldo.
"We have to take notice of Ronaldo" he said.
The coach of the other side, Paulo Bento said, "We know what we have to do. We have to put pressure on our opponents and our aim is not to defend all the time. We won't do that against the world and European champions. I think they know we can cause them problems."
He further added that, "There can't be any more beautiful opportunity
than the one we'll have tomorrow. We could reach the second final in our
history and we're all conscious of that. We're aware of our
responsibility to the Portuguese people to continue in this tournament."
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