LISBON, 17 June 2004 — Portugal resurrected their Euro 2004 hopes and ended those of 10-man Russia with a 2-0 victory yesterday but will still need to beat neighbors Spain in their final group game to advance to the quarterfinals.
Portugal, playing with the fizz and freedom that was so markedly absent from their nervy opening defeat by Greece, won courtesy of a goal from midfielder Maniche after seven minutes and a late effort by substitute Rui Costa.
A poor Russian team had their goalkeeper sent off for the second successive match, though the red card for Sergei Ovchinnikov at the end of the first half for handball just outside the penalty area seemed harsh.
Russia’s qualification hopes disappeared on the back of their ninth successive winless European Championship game — an unwelcome tournament record reaching back to the 1988 final.
But while the Portugal fans went off into the Lisbon night full of cheer, the head-to-head qualification system means they will have to beat Spain in their final game in the same city on June 20 to reach the last eight.
After Greece came back to draw 1-1 with Spain earlier yesterday both those teams have four points. Portugal have three and if they draw with Spain, Greece will go through thanks to their opening day 2-1 win — even if they lose their last game against Russia.
Yesterday’s early result meant that effectively Portugal were playing knockout football from the kickoff against Russia.
Coach Luiz Felipe Scolari had reacted to their poor display against Greece by bringing in three new faces and one of them, Brazilian-born Deco, had an immediate impact.
Brought in to replace stalwart Rui Costa in midfield, he slipped a lovely pass into the feet of Maniche and the Sporting Lisbon midfielder swivelled to shoot low past Ovchinnikov.
The relief felt by the crowd and players was almost palpable after the suffering in Porto last Saturday and the home side took control from then on.
Deco sent a volley over the bar, Pauleta was inches away from connecting with a Henrik Larsson-style diving header and defender Ricardo Carvalho sent a header over the bar.
Though they dropped off the pace later in the half, the result was effectively decided in the 45th minute when Ovchinnikov raced from his line to face Pauleta as the forward chased an errant back pass.
The keeper got a fair touch with his feet but, seemingly inadvertently, touched the loose ball with his arm and was shown an immediate red card by Norwegian referee Terje Hauge.
However, Portugal still found themselves forced to defend. Goalkeeper Ricardo was happy to punch out a stinging shot by Andrei Karyaka 10 minutes after the restart and only a brilliant tackle by Carvalho denied Alexander Kerzhakov a clear path to goal.
The scares seemed to spark Portugal into life and Luis Figo thought he had scored when he finished of a superb passing move with a firm low shot only for substitute keeper Viacheslav Malafeyev to brilliantly touch it on to a post.
But Rui Costa finally made sure of the victory when he knocked the ball home after a cross from fellow substitute Cristiano Ronaldo in the 89th minute.
In Porto, a 66th-minute goal from Angelos Haristeas canceled out an early strike by Spain forward Fernando Morientes to leave the Greeks, who pulled off a shock 2-1 win over hosts Portugal in the tournament’s opening match, top of the standings.
Greece and Spain both have four points from their opening two games and retain serious hopes of reaching the quarterfinals.
“We played a very good first half and got the goal,” Spain coach Inaki Saez said. “They scored an equalizer that was really a surprise but we continued to create chances. We didn’t have any luck in front of goal but we’re on the right lines.”
Although Greece’s seven-match winning streak in competitive matches ended, thousands of delighted fans remained in the Bessa stadium after the match cheering their team’s achievement.
The two sides, who met in the qualifying competition and each won in the other’s country, played contrasting styles, with Spain largely taking the match to Greece by attacking down the flanks, while Otto Rehhagel’s men were content to soak up the pressure and counterattack whenever they could.
After a sluggish start, the game came to life and a draw was ultimately a fair reflection of play, even though Spain created more scoring chances.
Initially, though, Spain settled first and dominated the match and Morientes’ goal, his 23rd in his 35th international, was just reward for their superiority.
Both teams were full of confidence after winning their opening matches but Spain’s was boosted even more after Morientes struck.
