Best yet to come warns Ricardo

Momentum change
After losing to Greece, Luiz Felipe Scolari's side could not afford to drop another point, and by winning their last two games Ricardo believes Portugal go into the last eight with momentum in their favour. "Every day the squad grows stronger and it's natural our performances are getting better," Ricardo said. "Since losing to Greece, every game has been a final for us.

'Two down, three to go'
"We have won two, and now we only have three to go. We have achieved our first goal, and with the quality and attitude of this team, I believe we will find even more strength." The 28-year-old put Portugal's dramatic improvement down to tremendous support, and a new sense of unity forged through playing competitive matches after two years of friendlies.

'Strength of unity'
"The daily contact between the players has helped," the goalkeeper admitted, adding, "It is totally different playing in the tournament. We could have started better, but it is in the difficult moments that our strength of unity is seen."

Tense times
Portugal will be watching closely as England take on Croatia and France face Switzerland tonight, knowing they will play the Group B runners-up in the last eight on Thursday. But whoever they face, Ricardo insisted that home support would play a telling role. "One reason for our success has been the strength transmitted by our country since the first day, particularly after the Greece match," he said.

Portuguese belief
"We felt the Portuguese continued to believe in us, and helped to win the last two games. Against Spain we played in a way all of Portugal can be proud of." Portugal had to work hard for last night's victory, no one more so than the goalkeeper who kept his side in the game in the first half when he rushed off his line to clear at the feet of Fernando Torres.

'Not a time for pain'
He also bravely denied Raúl González a shooting chance, in the process colliding painfully with team-mate Nuno Valente. Nothing, however, will be keeping the Sporting Clube de Portugal player out of the quarter-final. "I had some scratches, but now I'm fine," he said. "It's not the time to be complaining about pain."