False start drives Da Costa on

Manuel da Costa is convinced Portugal can "do better" - with a 0-0 draw against Belgium on Sunday representing a "bad start" to their Group A campaign.

Underwhelming display
The 21-year-old PSV Eindhoven defender was less than impressed by his side's display at the Euroborg Stadium in Groningen and hopes they will show their true colours in forthcoming matches against the Netherlands and Israel. "It was a bad start," said Da Costa. "We have good players and I think we are better than the Belgians man for man, but we should have played with the ball more as we started to do at the end. With this team, we can definitely do better."

Star billing
With the likes of Nani, Hugo Almeida and João Moutinho having entered the tournament with burgeoning reputations, Da Costa feels Portugal may have struggled to deal with the expectations thrust upon them against Jean-François De Sart's team. "There was pressure on all of us, partly because of our good performances with our clubs," he said. "But this was the first game - we still have a chance to really get into the tournament and react positively."

Fine performance
Da Costa was one of Portugal's most assured performers last night, proving a calm leader in defence in his first appearance at a major competition. "It was a great moment for me to be able to represent my country and to give my best," said the player who learned his trade in France at AS Nancy-Lorraine before joining PSV and winning the Dutch title in his first season in the Netherlands.

'Real men'
His Eredivisie day job means Da Costa is well placed to assess Portugal's next opponents at the Euroborg Stadium on 13 June, the Jong Oranje. He said: "I know how good they are - they have very good individuals like Ryan Babel. They'll be playing in front of a stadium packed with their own supporters and we'll have to deal with that. It will be very tough. In this game we will see who are the real men on the pitch."