Quaresma in call to arms

Portugal captain Ricardo Quaresma is urging his team to keep the faith as they face a make-or-break meeting with Serbia and Montenegro tonight.

'Two finals'
The hosts were beaten 1-0 by France in their opening Group A fixture and must seek to take maximum points from this evening's contest in Barcelos before going up against Germany on Sunday. "These two matches will be like two finals but not being in the semi-finals has never crossed my mind. This team is not used to losing and we're going to show everybody that we are a great team. I recognise that against France I wasn't at my best but now it will be different."

'Heart and soul'
Quaresma believes he and his team-mates have drawn closer together after their French failure. "We made several mistakes against France but we have talked about that among us, so it won't happen again. We are going to give our best in order to win, because we are here with all our heart and soul. The team spirit is still great and we will show even more desire to win. Serbia and Montenegro are physically very strong but like us they like to play positive football. I think that can work in our favour."

Focus required
Portugal could again look to Sporting Clube de Portugal winger Nani to lead the way to goal. The 19-year-old told uefa.com: "We still have it in our hands to qualify, because if we win the next two games we will reach the semi-finals. France played very well and we lost, but no one wanted to win more than us. Now we have to pick ourselves up and focus our attention on Serbia and Montenegro."

EURO memories
He added that Portugal's senior side lost their opening match at UEFA EURO 2004™ but recovered to reach the final. "I hope this defeat will take us as far as the national team when they lost their first game and still managed to progress. But if that happens, I also hope we'll be able to win the tournament and not lose the final." Serbia and Montenegro must be disposed of first, but Portugal appear in the mood.