European Championship 2008 - Portugal

Portugal football is on the up as they have many top quality players and in some respects are at a stage in their development which is reminiscent of Holland in the 1980s and they have finished 4th at the last World Cup. Portugal have qualified four times for the FIFA World Cup in 1966, 1986, 2002 and 2006.

Their first qualification for euro championships was in 1984 as this was the first time that Portugal entered the European championships. In 2000 they got to the semis going out to World Cup holders France. This tournament was held in Portugal. In 2004 Portugal were the hosts and they went all the way through to the final where they were beaten by Greece 1-0.

Reading down the list of Stars you can see they could make a real impression once again in 2008 with the likes of Deco, Cristiano Ronaldo and players on the up like Ricardo Quaresma, Miguel Veloso and Nani.

Portugal have a top coach in Luiz Felipe Scolari who did a great job as manager of Brazil and is regarded as one of the best in the business and for this reason and a great team set up they are as short as 7/1 with William Hill but you can get bigger if you search around.

Player To Watch - Cristiano Ronaldo
The 2007 Player of the Year and is a key player for Portugal and club Man Utd. He has matured into a top player with great ball skills and pace and he will be one of the stars of the Euro 2008 championships.