Portugal's "Second" Final Brings on England

England coach Sven Goran Eriksson admitted ahead of his team's quarter-final game against Portugal that England must improve their set-piece defending if they are to beat the host nation in Lisbon. With Luis Figo and Christiano Ronaldo just two the players that can cause damage from free-kicks and corners, England must shore up a defense that has let in four goals so far -- all from dead ball situations.

"The only thing that I hope we do better is defending at set-pieces," said Eriksson at the team's press conference on Wednesday. "Against Croatia, there were two wide free-kicks and two goals against us."

England's first European Championship quarter-final on foreign soil appears to hold no fear for a team growing in confidence as the tournament moves into the knock-out phase. "The belief among the players is very big," Eriksson told reporters. "I hope we are peaking at the right time. If we go on like this, then it's not easy to beat us so why shouldn't we be one of the favourites? I might seem to be calm, but inside I'm still very excited and a little bit nervous."

Unchanged England to share the burden

England is expected to field an unchanged line-up for the game with teen-sensation Wayne Rooney again poised to partner Michael Owen in attack. "I'm sure he'll play very well again but to expect to score a couple of goals every game is asking too much," the England coach said of the pressure he aims to deflect from his current leading light. "Whether he scores one goal or no goals it's just important that he is focused and concentrated."

England have had just two days to recover after the bruising encounter with Croatia on Monday while Portugal have had 24 hours more to recover after their match against Spain last Sunday. "It's a very short gap between the two games. If it's enough, I will say afterwards," the coach said with a forced smile.

"But we have been doing everything that we can - making sure the players are eating and drinking a lot, with a lot of massage, stretching and ice-baths," he said.

Portugal coach sees a balanced game

Portugal's coach Luiz Felipe Scolari believes that his team will need every advantage they can muster in their clash with England, who Scolari beat as Brazil manager in the 2002 World Cup quarter-final in Japan, and put the game on a knife-edge by saying Portugal has a "50/50" chance against England.

"If we want to win, we have to play very well. If we just play well, it is unlikely we will win," the Brazilian said. "England has evolved, they're much better than at the World Cup and we respect them. If we do not have total concentration, we run a serious risk."

Despite the history between himself and his counterpart Eriksson, Scolari believes the opposition will provide a sterner test this time than in Japan two years ago. "England are well-organized, almost the same as the team in 2002, which I faced with Brazil in the World Cup but with a big addition of quality.

"Sven-Goran Eriksson has continued his work very well. England is no longer a team who depend on high crosses into the penalty area. Now, they keep the ball on the ground and move it around."

Scolari sees the team threat, not just Rooney

Scolari is well aware of the threat posed by the evolving talent of Rooney and the cohesive midfield behind him but the coach insisted that Portugal will not concentrate solely on stopping England's teenage striker.

"If we give Rooney a couple of chances, he could be fatal for us. We will be up against a player who has been scoring goals for fun. But we mustn't just focus on him -- he doesn't play alone, he's part of a great team. England is tough, well-organised opponents. They are very strong."

Portugal (probable): Ricardo, Miguel, Jorge Andrade, Ricardo Carvalho, Nuno Valente, Costinha, Maniche, Luis Figo, Deco, Cristiano Ronaldo, Nuno Gomes.

England (probable): James, G Neville, A Cole, Terry, Campbell; Lampard, Gerrard, Beckham, Scholes; Rooney, Owen.