Portugal shimmer in afternoon sun

THEY dazzled in the flood lights of Hillsborough on Sunday and they shimmered in the hot sun of Nottingham yesterday. The Portuguese have lit up this tournament with a brand of football that is straight from the school playground. Attack, attack, attack, appears to be all they know and yet Portugal are still not guaranteed a place in the quarter finals.

Thankfully though, for them and for us, the chances are looking up. A smashing 65th minute volley by centre half Fernando Couto gave Portugal victory and they will keenly await the result of Croatia Denmark tomorrow to see how Group D shapes up.

As for the Turks they became the second team eliminated from the tournament. Two 1-0 defeats hardly represents a disaster especially against such fancied countries as Croatia and Portugal. The Turks can also look forward to having a decisive shout in the group's outcome when they play the reigning champions Denmark on Wednesday.

The idiosyncratic skills of Abdullah at left half and the assurance of Vedat at the back should ensure a tough game but it is not in those areas where Turkey have been deficient.

Baia, the Portuguese goalkeeper, had no significantly nervous moments all day and when Saffet did work himself into a promising penalty area position he dived like a ham actor when Helder might have brought him down anyway. Yet at the back, while Portugal created several chances, Turkey were far from ripped apart.

That description, however, was applicable to the midfield where Rui Costa put on a show of silky, ghostly speed. Time after time the 24 year old from Fiorentina glided effortlessly through challenges evading Turkish lunges. But the Portuguese strikers, for all their impressive running, continually failed to live up to Ruf Costa's standards.

Sa Pinto was particularly guilty, missing an easy side foot from six yards and was followed by Figo heading over from a similar distance. In between Helder sliced a close range volley wide but Portugal kept coming forward nevertheless. They got their reward from the unlikely source of Couto when he put a deflected Paulo Sousa cross low beyond Rustu.