While most of us spent six months focused on United States-England, another (possibly larger) part of the world had similar anticipation for Brazil-Portugal. But the schedule was not as kind to this match-up, so while England and the United States got the pristine landscape of a match that opened group play, Brazil and Portugal have established two matches worth of context. Brazil needs only a draw to win the group, and Portugal may not be able to risk their best player.
World Cup 2010, Brazil Vs. Portugal Preview: Historic Rivalry Subdued Ahead Of Knockout Stage
The match between the Selecao and Seleccao would have been more entertaining than England-United States’s 1-1, but closing out Group G play on Friday, the match carries a series of motivations ulterior to winning.
Brazil, Going Forward: Luis Fabiano woke-up against Cote d'Ivoire, recording a brace after not having scored a goal for Brazil since November. His awakening will augment the loss of Kaká, suspended after two accumulating two yellow cards against Les Elephants. Julio Baptista is slated to come in for Kaká, making Brazil into even more of a counter-attacking side.
If Brazil gets put in a situation where they need a goal, they will be reliant on Robinho. He is, of the players slated to start Friday, Dunga's most creative presence. While Luis Fabiano is resourceful and Elano is skillful, neither guy is likely to create goals from his teammates. When Robinho is in the right mindset, as he was when he generated a goal for Elano against North Korea, we serve as the center of a good attack.
Portugal, Going Forward: Carlos Queiroz has to decide whether he wants to expend his resources chasing Group G's first place, which they'll get if they beat Brazil. That will require starting Cristiano Ronaldo, who is on a yellow card and, as we saw when Cote d'Ivoire's Guy Demel drew the caution, can get carded at any point (even when he's done little wrong). If Queiroz risks Ronaldo trying to win the group, he risks not having his best player for the game that really matters: their Round of 16 match.
If Ronaldo doesn't play, Portugal looks similar, possibly more balanced. They're still a team that has strong wing play with Simão and Danny. Their striker position is still a question mark, now using Hugo Almeida instead of Leidson, with their midfield, set to be without Deco for the second straight match, trying to forge a new identity around Raul Meireles and Thaigo.
That identity combined for three of Portugal’s seven goals against North Korea.
How The Match Turns: Whether Ronaldo starts, Portugal is going to challenge Brazil, having little to lose if their aggression backfires and they give up goals. The longer this match stays close, the more accustomed to a draw these teams will become. At some point, the match will become less about Portugal pushing Brazil and more about two teams looking forward to the knockout stage.
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