ok, this thread is for the upcoming Quarter finals:
**Portugal - England
France - Greece
Sweden - The Netherlands
Czech Republic - Denmark**
withouth doubt Por - Eng will be a massive match. Both teams lost their first match and won the consecutive two. Both are growing into the tournament.
Eng has scored more goals so far (8 vs 4), but their defence, especially keeper, has looked fragile (4 goals conceded vs 2).
I think that if Portugal manage to man-mark Rooney, the sting will be out the English game and it shudn't be difficult to beat them.
The other Q finals, are straight forward predictions (i think!)
France, Czech Republic and Holland shud all three make it relatively easy
Teh qtr finals kick off tomorrow with England against Portugal. It will be tough for England. Portugal have a good team and also the home crowd behind them. My feeling is that if England can win this one tomorrow they will go all the way.
Come on England.
Portugal
France
Holland
Chechz 
to go through to the semi’s
C’mon.. there’s gotta be an upset, so far Italy’s the only one. I say the Greeks will take France 1-0 after lightning strikes down Zidane and Henri.
(and no I wouldn’t be upset if England loses 
)
Eh, this is almost boring.. aside from tomorrows match…
Portugal are out. Flair alone does not win football matches and Portugal are a side that has always been filled with players who look good outside the box but don't do any damage in it (no puns please).
Ronaldo is the key player for Portugal but he's a relatively inexperienced kid who will be over-awed by the occasion tomorrow. So while I expect England will contain Portugal's powder puff attack fairly easily, I am sure that the idiotic Portuguese will leave themselves wide open in their usual naive and undisciplined fashion.
A 2-1 victory for England and Rooney once again causing havoc as predicted by me months ago to the disbelieving Nes.
The biggest match would surely be Portugal and England one. I expect Owen to rise to the occassion. I hope England dont go in their defensive shell because they surely played amazing football against croats. Their weakest link is their keeper whose positioning against free-kicks is awful to say the least. Their midfield is their strongest point.
Portugal on the other hand are an unpredictable unit. Deco, Figo and Ronaldo all can cause havoc but somehow they dont do it more often.
It should be awesome though!
Come on, France have too much class in their ranks to be toppled by Greeks.
But yeah without Italy, quarter final lineups seem incomplete. 
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by saby: *
Their weakest link is their keeper whose positioning against free-kicks is awful to say the least. Their midfield is their strongest point.
[/QUOTE]
saby man, my respect for you grows every day. David James is a catastrophe waiting to happen and you picked it. England's midfield is not their strongest point however. Both the attack and defence (goalkeeper apart) are much more effective.
What about Germany and Spain? 
Confidence is sky high in England. The Mirror front page sums up the message to Portugal. You are going to get stuffed.
[thumb=H]00007EDC-7335-10DA-A84580C328EC00001131_9243400.JPG[/thumb]
Look at the dates of this astoundingly accurate prediction back in April:
Kiss goodbye to Euro 2004 Portugal, it’s written in the stars 
Spain one was an upset for sure. Germany kaa tu lag hee raha thhaa even before the tournament.
Italy sighs
Rooney and Ronaldo set for centre stage](Yahoo is part of the Yahoo family of brands.)
LISBON (Reuters) - Rooney or Ronaldo, which of the teenage tyros will still be making the headlines after England face Portugal in the first Euro 2004 quarter-final tonight?
Rooney – 18-year-old Wayne – blasted England into the last eight with four goals and an all-round forward display that has had the some of the world’s top coaches drooling and some of the best defenders trembling.
Ronaldo – 19-year-old Cristiano – has been instrumental in lifting Portugal from the despair of their opening game defeat as his incomparable skill and sheer zest for the game has helped spark a belief that has swept across the host nation.
The two youngsters will be at the centre of attention on what should be a wonderful occasion at the Luz Stadium but there is so much more to savour in this intriguing clash.
Both teams are buzzing, riding the crest of a wave after recovering spectacularly from losing starts.
Two days into the tournament it was gloom and doom after the host nation fluffed their lines by losing 2-1 to Greece and England threw away a 1-0 lead in the last three minutes to go down by the same score to champions France.
Both sides then followed the same winning route to recovery. Portugal got back on track with a nervy 2-0 victory over Russia, England doing the same with a more comfortable 3-0 success over Switzerland.
Portugal then sparked national celebrations by beating Spain for the first time in 23 years, their 1-0 victory catapulting them to the top of Group A.
England followed suit with their best tournament performance since beating the Netherlands 4-1 at Wembley in Euro 96, their 4-2 comeback win over Croatia sparking wild scenes at home and in Lisbon, taken over for the night by the legion of St George.
The party will continue in the capital on Thursday, but only for one set of supporters.
Portugal go into the game with real confidence now, their first competitive win over their neighbours convincing them there is nobody in the tournament to fear.
As so often is the case, what seemed the first choice lineup going into the competition bears little resemblance to that which Luiz Felipe Scolari is likely to name for Thursday’s match.
Ronaldo started the first two games on the bench but the winger must now be the first name on the team sheet.
England’s fullbacks Ashley Cole and Ronaldo’s Manchester United team mate Gary Neville will have to be at the absolute top of their game to keep Ronaldo at bay.
Only a suspension has saved the disappointing Pauleta from being dropped and starting in his place up front should be Nuno Gomes, who came on for him at halftime against Spain and scored the winner.
Similarly, Deco will keep the midfield berth he inherited from Rui Costa.
IMPRESSIVE MIDFIELD
England should start with the same 11 who began against Switzerland and Croatia, the development in their side being a matter of tactics rather than personnel.
Manager Sven-Goran Eriksson began the tournament preaching a midfield diamond but the players persuaded him to revert to a flat four, a formation they are all more comfortable with.
The result has been impressive. Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard have suddenly gelled into a formidable central duo, both strong in the tackle, great passers and full of energy.
Paul Scholes will be hugely boosted by his first international goal in three years, which brought England level against Croatia, while David Beckham is due a captain’s performance wide on the right.
Then there is Rooney, carrying a nation’s hopes on his broad shoulders – with the world watching.
Probable teams:
Portugal (4-4-2) - 1-Ricardo; 13-Miguel, 16-Ricardo Carvalho, 4-Jorge Andrade, 14-Nuno Valente; 6-Costinha, 18-Maniche (or 8-Armando Petit), 7-Luis Figo, 20-Deco; 17-Cristiano Ronaldo, 21-Nuno Gomes.
England (4-4-2) - 1-David James; 2-Gary Neville, 5-John Terry, 6-Sol Campbell, 3-Ashley Cole; 7-David Beckham, 11-Frank Lampard, 4-Steven Gerrard, 8-Paul Scholes; 9-Wayne Rooney, 10-Michael Owen.
Nah, Germany is terrible, and I can’t ever manage to find sympathy for them. The whole Bundes league is overrated. (well, maybe not judging by the number of haters this year 
) Anyway, they have the World Cup to look forward to. Spain’s a different story, but if they couldn’t beat Greece then I’m not going to cry for them.
I’m in it for the Czechs now.. I’m not sure they’ll make it past the semis (France) with their roster, but it’ll be fun to have an Eastern team win. As long as it’s not France or England! 
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by spoon: *
Nah, Germany is terrible, and I can't ever manage to find sympathy for them.
[/QUOTE]
Believe me: Nobody is happier about the German exit from the EC than me. But still I think many would have expected them to go through.
This has been an awesome tournament so far, with the Group C dramatics being the highlight for me. For today's game, I just don't see England losing -- yet. However, Portugal can and will cause them problems. Don't forget -- their coach, Scolari, beat them in WC2002, Portugal and Brazil speak the same language and both teams had Ronaldo...heck who am I kidding but I do see James as a disaster waiting to happen.
Portugal are not Brazil. The Brazilians might be a flair team but they have always had a hard backbone. Portugal on the other hand have never had much resilience so no matter how nicely they play their football they will concede goals and their heads will go down.
I am rooting for England. 
WE will beat those ugly potuguesas.
X-treme will you be my Posh?
Only if you agree to wear a sarong