Portugal is another European country with a rich football/soccer tradition that will be participating in the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. It appears to enjoy the advantages of being in Group G [also known as the Group of Death] with Brazil, Ivory Coast, and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea [also known as North Korea].

Portugal is in third place behind Brazil and Spain in the FIFA Coca Cola Ranking at the present time [14^th of May 2010]. It is ahead of the Ivory Coast in the same ranking even though there having been changes in the African nation. Portugal is also ahead of North Korea in the same classification.

Portugal is also a powerhouse as a finalist in the UEFA EURO 2004 and semi finalist at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. The other advantage that Portugal has is that its coach Carlos Queiroz was in South Africa in that capacity.

Carlos Queiroz was born in Mozambique and has extensive knowledge of football/soccer in Africa as well as Europe. The road taken by Portugal towards the 2010 World Cup left a string of victories over fellow European countries such as Hungary, Albania, Bosnia Herzegovina, and Malta.

One of the principal players of the team is Cristiano Ronaldo who was also famous having played for the English Premier League team Manchester United. Simao is the top scorer with 19 goals scored within the time frame of 731 minute. The team itself has 7 wins, 4 draws, and 1 loss.

Portugal also has 19 goals for, 5 goals against, and on an average 13 yellow cards. The first game against the Ivory Coast is expected to be a strong challenge for the team. The Ivory Coast will have Didier Drogba as one of the principal players and Sven Goran Eriksson as the coach.

The Ivory Coast has developed into an efficient and well oiled team in preparation for the 2010 World Cup. It remains to be seen what will transpire. The second game against North Korea is expected to be an easy one for Portugal even though North Korea has not been tested. The reason for a possible victory by Portugal over North Korea is based on the FIFA Coca Cola Ranking.

The biggest and interesting game of Group G will be the Battle of the Titans when Portugal faces Brazil. Both teams are powerful and while Brazil can be expected to win, Portugal is not going to give up without a struggle. The other possibility is the element of surprise when the predictions the pundits are turned upside down as it was when Croatia defeated Germany in the 1998 FIFA World Cup held in France.

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