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Portugal
The golden generation of Portuguese football will finally get a chance to showcase its skills to the world in Japan and South Korea.
Great things were expected of the group of players who won the 1989 and '91 World Youth Championships, but so far they have not lived up to expectations.
Will it change in 2002?
As the countdown to the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan continues, CNNSI.com's Pedro Pinto will take a close look at all of the nations that will contend for football's greatest prize.
Pinto is an anchor on World Sport, the international sports show that airs live on CNN/Sports Illustrated and CNN International.
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They have been called the "Brazil of Europe" because of the brand of football they play: artistic, creative, exciting.
But ball possession and skill don't necessarily translate into wins, so it will be up to the front line to make the creativity of Luis Figo and Rui Costa count.
Playing in a 4-2-3-1 formation, Portugal many times crowds the midfield and lack sharpness in attack.
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Rui Costa. Figo will be Figo... dribbling, crossing, inventing goals for his colleagues. Portugal doesn't have to worry about him. It has to worry about Costa, a player who can dominate one game and disappear in another. For Benfica, Fiorentina and now AC Milan, he has been stellar, but for Portugal he is many times too passive. Rui Costa needs to pull the strings for the Portuguese attack and be the blade that will split the opposing defenses wide open.
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Finishing. For all the chances that Portugal creates, the return rate is many times around 10 percent. Is that because they play with only one striker? Maybe. But still, Pedro Pauleta and Nuno Gomes need to put the ball in the back of the net, because in top-class football you don't get too many second chances.
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Tactics. Manager Antonio Oliveira became a hero for taking Portugal to the World Cup for the first time since 1986. But his over-defensive tactics nearly cost the Iberian nation a place in the finals. It was only when he was down 2-0 at home to Holland and losing 1-0 in Cyprus that he brought on a second striker. Fortunately, his players saved the day. But has he learned his lesson?
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Portugal finished first in Group 2, securing an automatic spot in the finals. They played 10 games, winning seven and drawing three.
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Portuguese people may be obsessed with football, but their nation has only qualified for the World Cup twice before. They finished third in 1966, led by the goalscoring of the "Black Panther" Eusebio, and in 1986 failed to advance past the first phase. They have played nine games, winning six and losing three.
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How far will Figo carry this team? With adequate help from Rui Costa, Sergio Conceicao and Pauleta or Nuno Gomes, Portugal could make the quarterfinals. The defensive line is solid with hard men Fernando Couto and Jorge Costa in the middle, so it is up to the strikers to get the job done.
How far will Portugal go in the World Cup? View Instant Poll Results
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