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Portugal prepare for Czech Republic
Posted Thursday, June 21, 2012 by SNTV

Intro:

Portugal trained at their Polish base in Opalenica on Wednesday, on the eve of their Euro 2012 quarter-final against the Czech Republic.

Script:

The weather may have been doing it's best to dampen spirits in the Portuguese camp but Paulo Bento's side are looking forward to facing Czech Republic in the quarter-finals of Euro 2012.

Portugal finished second in Group B as they continued their impressive record of reaching the knockout stages of every European Championship they have played in.

There was further good news for Portugal as Pepe returned to training after recovering from ankle pain.

Portugal and the Czech Republic have met just twice before, with honours even at one win each.

At Euro '96, the Czechs won 1-0 in the quarter-finals before finishing runner's up to Germany, while four years ago, Portugal won 3-1 in Geneva in the group phase of Euro 2008.

Cristiano Ronaldo was on the scoresheet in that game and the Portugal fans will be hoping that their talismanic captain can do it again on Thursday, especially after his impressive display during the 2-1 victory over the Netherlands.

The Real Madrid star netted a brace against the Dutch and appears to be ready to cause problems for the Czech backline in Warsaw.

Standings
    Rank Team W/D/L Pts

    Cities & Stadiums

    The Top 3 Teams of Previous Tournaments

    Year Winners Runner-up Third place
    2008SpainGermanyRussia / Turkey
    2004GreecePortugalNetherlands / Czech Republic
    2000FranceItalyNetherlands / Portugal
    1996GermanyCzech RepublicFrance / England
    1992DenmarkGermanyNetherlands / Sweden
    1988NetherlandsSoviet UnionItaly / West Germany
    1984FranceSpainDenmark / Portugal
    1980West GermanyBelgiumCzechoslovakia
    1976CzechoslovakiaWest GermanyNetherlands
    1972West GermanySoviet UnionBelgium
    1968ItalyYugoslaviaEngland
    1964SpainSoviet UnionHungary
    1960Soviet UnionYugoslaviaCzechoslovakia