Portugal plotting to reach peak

Portugal are in fine fettle on and off the futsal court as they prepare to stage the 2007 UEFA European Futsal Championship at the end of the year.

Getting ready
While it is full steam ahead for the organisers ahead of Saturday's draw in Porto for the eight competing nations, the Portuguese national team have been making sure they will be ready for action come the first day of the finals on 16 November. Having qualified automatically, Orlando Duarte's men have not had to play a competitive fixture since they beat Hungary 5-3 in the group stage of the previous tournament in February 2005.

Promising signs
Despite that victory, Portugal failed to reach the semi-finals - although few were surprised given they were also in a group with eventual winners Spain and defending champions Italy. Fast forward more than two years and there are promising signs for the nation that will host the fifth edition of the continental championship. Last month, Portugal staged a double friendly with fellow finalists the Czech Republic and Duarte's men proved to be at another level - winning 4-1 and 6-0 in the two matches.

Confidence high
Duarte said: "We are getting better. We are stronger in defence as we have only conceded an average of one goal per match in the last year. We have improved our attacking play as well and we feel we can hold our own against any team in the world." The coach has also been keeping a close eye on the latest developments, travelling to Murcia last month to see the UEFA Futsal Cup final four which was ultimately won by a MFK Dinamo Moskva team boasting several players likely to be on view for Russia at the finals.

High quality
"Our main goal is to prepare for the European Championship and to create a winning spirit," Duarte added. "The team has created more and more goal attempts and our gameplay has improved a lot. We now have a group of 18 to 20 high-quality players." Those burgeoning talents will get another chance to impress when Portugal participate in a friendly outdoor futsal tournament in July in the Algarve against two other national teams. More matches will follow in September and October, all to ensure the Portuguese reach their peak as the Porto finals roll around.