Here's one Henrique asked for and being the nice guy everyone
knows me to be I went along with it. They are considered potential
champions though I favour change rather than have one team dominate
a competition for the third time. Anyway here 'tis.

(begin quote)

While a lot of commentators say that this Portuguese team isn't as good as 
its predecessors, the fact remains that, statistically, it has little to
prove. In its preliminary group for the European Youth Championship,
Portugal edged out tough competition - France, Denmark (both 3-0 and 0-0) and
Luxemburg (5-0 and 7-1) without losing a game and conceeding only one goal.
Then, in the Euro finals, it beat fellow qualifiers Germany (4-0) and 
England (12-11 on penalties after a 1-1 draw), before failing at the final
hurdle to Turkey - but only after sudden death extra time.

	Winners of the 1989 and 1991 FIFA/Coca-Cola Cups, Portugal will
be strong contenders again in Australia. The defending champion may not have
a squad equal to that of 1991 - which boasted the likes of Joao Pinto II,
Peixe, Brassard, Figo and Rui Costa - but its performances in the European
qualifiers demonstrated that it will be one of the teams to beat this time
around.
	In contrast to the 1991 world champion squad, there is a dearth 
of players in this squad who had signed professional contracts before coming
to this tournament; two years ago no less than eleven of the squad were bound
for top clubs. This time three players - Paulo Poejo, Daniel Kenedy Santos and
Hugo Porfirio - are contracted to the country's top two clubs, Sporting Lisbon
and Benfica.
	Glamour clubs may be missing from the playing roster, but this 
Portuguese squad will still rate amongst the favourites. Indeed, Australia may
be fertile ground for this young team. The Portuguese press are mentioning 
players such as Paulo Costinha and Porfirio, who are the most capped of the
squad, to stand out. They also rave about Hugo Costa, Sergio Ribeiro and 
Fabio Silva.
	Portugal will be a well organised side, coaches Agostinho Oliveira
and Jose A Costa will see to that. Defensively sound and tactically creative,
this team should thrill Australian crowds with the fluency of its football.
The adventurous attitude of the coaches should enhance the positive aspects of
the players' game.
	The dour, drab, chess-like pattern of play, which characterises so
many teams at this level [I always thought it was the senior sides who tended
to be more this way], isn't allowed to get a stranglehold in Portugals youth
teams. It is this style which helped Portugal dominate the last two Youth
Championships and, even if this years team has yet to produce internationally
known players, it will undoubtedly feature prominently again in Australia.
	The 1989 FIFA/Coca-Cola Cup revealed Joao Pinto to the world; in 
1991 it was Peixe who established himself as one of the stars of the new
generation of Portuguese players. So who will it be in Australia? Those in the
know are keeping tabs on Maritimo's Eusebio, a famous name if ever there was
one in Portuguese football.

Likely Squad : (Names by which players are known in upper case)

Luis ANDRADE Oliveira		Vitor CARDOSO		Joao COSTA
Paulo COSTINHA			EUSEBIO Sousa		FABIO Silva
HUGO Costa			Daniel KENEDY Santos	NELSON Morais
Carlos Margalhaes 'LITOS'	NUNO Santo		PAULO FERREIRA
Paulo POEJO			Hugo PORFIRIO		RICARDO NASCIMENTO
SERGIO RIBEIRO			Antonio Sousa 'TONANHA'	Antonio Costa 'TOTO'

(end qoute)

	Portugal are playing in Brisbane in their group matches. They
face the mighty Federal Republic of Germany :-) on the 6th of March,
Uruguay on the 9th and the first African qualifier on the 11th.