Luis Felipe Scolari aiming for hat-trick
Date: 01-07-2006 10:16
Portugal coach Luis Felipe Scolari has a selection headache as he bids to knock Sven Goran-Eriksson's England out of a third successive major tournament. The Swede will make changes of his own after the recovery of Gary Neville.
Scolari was in charge of the Brazil team which beat England 2-1 in the 2002 World Cup and then as Portugal coach oversaw the penalty shoot-out triumph in Euro 2004.
Both of those games were at the quarter-final stage, as is Saturday's match. It would complete a satisfying hat-trick over England if 'Big Phil' - who turned down the England job once Sven Goran-Eriksson's tenure ends due to the siege mentality of the English press - can do it again.
The heat predicted by forecasters could be a big plus for his team. In similar conditions in Japan in 2002 England's exhausted players faded out of the game in the second half, and the humidity in 2004 made extra-time difficult for them.
England had a longer break prior to this tournament, but players have still struggled in Germany. Captain David Beckham suffered physical sickness in the second round match with Ecuador, apparently because of dehydration.
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