Ronaldo to lead Portugal to Euro finals

The second legs of the Euro 2012 play-offs take place on Tuesday as the final four sides book their places at the finals in Poland and Ukraine next summer. Portugal host Bosnia in one of most finely-poised ties but the home side should be backed to make it through

After a disappointing goalless encounter between these two sides on Friday evening, Portugal have home advantage going into the second leg and will be able to see off a resolute Bosnian side at the Estadio Nacional in which they can be backed at 4/9.

In the first leg, Portugal looked like the home side as they pushed players forward in an adventurous nature against the hosts, who looked content with taking a 0-0 scoreline from the game into the return leg in Lisbon.

Portugal would be one of the top seeds if they qualified for next summer’s finals and can rely on one of the world’s best player in Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Portuguese skipper went close to breaking the deadlock a couple of times in the opening leg, with Bosnian keeper Asmir Begovic  denying the Real Madrid forward from giving his side a lead going into the return fixture.

Ronaldo has been in scintillating form this season for his club side, scoring 17 goals in as many games for the Spanish giants.

Bosnia are likely to defend deep in Lisbon and it could be a free-kick that breaks the deadlock between the two sides. Therefore Ronaldo is a good bet to score the first goal in the game at 5/2. Don’t forget he also takes penalties for his country and plays in an advanced position when on national duty.

Although Ronaldo is the star in the Portugal side, they also have the likes of Nani, Raul Meireles and Helder Postiga, who have all been in good form for their respective clubs.

Portugal are a tough side to beat on home soil and they did beat the same opponents 1-0 in Lisbon in the second leg of their 2010 World Cup qualification play-off last year.

World champions Spain were beaten 4-0 in Lisbon last year by Paulo Bento’s side and have won six out of their last seven fixtures at home.

Bosnia are likely to adopt similar tactics to that in the first leg therefore the timing of the opening goal will be crucial. If Portugal can score an early goal in the game they will be able to open their opponents up and a scoreline of 3-0 to the home side looks a solid bet at 9/1.

However, if the score remains the same at half-time, Portugal will have to be more patient but they should get the opportunity to add misery on Bosnia once again.

The visitors have been hit with injuries to three of their first-choice defenders with Boris Pandza and Sasa Papac both out of the game through suspension.

Coach Safet Susic will be relying on some of his fringe players to step into the side for the trip, but it is very unlikely that they will be able to match the talent in the Portugal side so they are set to face elimination once again.

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Australia and Argentina prepare for finals

Australia star Harry KewellAustralia’s Jason Culina is banking on the squad’s experienced to be a factor in their favour in South Africa (Australia 8/1 to win Group D).

The Socceroos have come in for plenty of criticism in the build-up to the tournament, with the media quick to label them as too old to do well in the World cup.

The criticism certainly didn’t diminish after a lucky 2-1 win over New Zealand in Melbourne on Monday.

But speaking from the Socceroos’ pre-World Cup training camp at altitude in Johannesburg, Culina was keen to use the age of the squad as a positive.

“We’ve all got the four years behind us and three-quarters of the squad have been at a World Cup before so we know what to expect,” Culina said.

“Last World Cup was hard because we didn’t know what to expect.

“We’re not going in there blind this time. It should count for a lot.

“The whole team has really been strengthened in the last few years, we moved up the rankings, and that’s why we’ve got the results we have.

“This squad’s been together for quite a while now and that’s really important to us.”

Culina played well against New Zealand, despite not having played a match since early March when his A-League side Gold Coast exited the finals.

The midfielder has spent the past two months training with his old Dutch side PSV Eindhoven, attempting to keep fit and at the forefront of coach Pim Verbeek’s plans for the World Cup opener against Germany on June 13.

“Unfortunately I haven’t played any games but I’m raring to go. I’m feeling fit and healthy and I can’t ask for more,” Culina said.

Meanwhile, Argentina (4/9 to win Group B) arrived in South Africa for the World Cup looking jet-lagged as they were greeted by media at the Johannesburg airport.

Coach Diego Maradona said: “Hola, South Africa. I love South Africa.” He did not stop to take questions before leaving for his team’s base at the High Performance Centre in the capital Pretoria.

Lionel Messi was also subdued on his first appearance in South Africa. Wearing a white baseball cap, the Barcelona forward did not react to requests from the assembled media for a smile or a wave.

Maradona, who has already named his final 23-man World Cup squad, led the players off the plane on the short walk to the newly built special arrival facility for World Cup teams.

Argentina face Nigeria, South Korea and Greece in the group stages in South Africa. The two-time World Cup winner will play Nigeria at Johannesburg’s Ellis Park on June 12.

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