Scolari mindful of minnows' bite

Luiz Felipe Scolari says Portugal "cannot relax" as they attempt to seal UEFA EURO 2008™ qualification with a win against improving Armenia in Leiria.

Respect
Four points from this week's home games against Armenia and Finland will secure a top-two finish for Portugal in Group A, and Scolari is demanding a professional approach to Saturday's match. "From what I've seen, Armenia have played really well," the coach said. "Only Belgium have beaten them at home and they are always motivated against the bigger teams.

Pressure off
"We have to control the game and we cannot relax, because we have done so before with dire consequences," he added. "We must make our technique count but we also have to run more than our opponents. There is no great pressure on us because we have a second game after this, but if we want to go into that final match feeling relaxed we must beat Armenia."

Strength in adversity
Serving the final instalment of a three-month touchline ban following incidents at September's qualifier against Serbia, Scolari said: "The team have improved since my suspension because we have come together with the aim of qualifying. I asked the players to help me in a bad moment and they have done. My mistake has made the players more focused and aware of our purpose."

Simão switch
Portugal will be without the injured Ricardo Carvalho, Luis Miguel, Paulo Ferreira and Deco, with Simão taking the last-mentioned's position as an attacking midfielder. "Simão used to play there at [SL] Benfica," explained Scolari. "He is the most logical replacement for Deco. I know we have problems in defence but fortunately we can count on Pepe as he is now 100 per cent."

Breakthrough
Centre-forward Nuno Gomes hopes an early goal against Armenia will ease any nerves. "It is always important to strike first," he said. "It would have been nice to have qualified already but we're not there yet. We will focus on these two matches to get to the finals." Cristiano Ronaldo will receive a trophy from Portugal great Eusébio before kick-off to mark his 50th international appearance.