Braga win moves them back into top spot in Portugal

Sporting Braga have moved back into sole position of top spot in the Portuguese Superliga (Liga Sagres) after their victory today over Uniao de Leiria 2-0 to end play for Week 11. Paulo Cesar scored six minutes into the game and Matheus added another in the second half and Braga now sit two points ahead of second place Benfica and five points ahead of third place FC Porto

The potential Portugal roster for World Cup 2010

The World Cup is a mere seven months away and with the Group Draws taking place this Friday in South Africa, the next question would be what will Portugal's 23 man roster look like come World Cup time. We here at PSNL have decided to take an early look at the potential roster for World Cup 2010, we of course are looking at the roster with all players being healthy when the tournament starts.

Goalies- Eduardo (Braga), Rui Patricio (Sporting), Quim (Benfica)

Defense- Pepe (Real Madrid), Ricardo Carvalho (Chelsea), Bosingwa (Chelsea), Duda (Malaga), Bruno Alves (FC Porto), Fernando Meira (Zenit), Paulo Ferreira (Chelsea), Miguel (Valencia)

Midfielders- C. Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Nani (Manchester United), Tiago (Juventus), Raul Meireles (FC Porto), Joao Moutinho (Sporting), Miguel Veloso (Sporting), Deco (Chelsea), Pedro Mendes (Rangers), Simao Sabrosa (Atletico Madrid)

Forwards- Hugo Almeida (Werder Bremen), Liedson (Sporting), Nuno Gomes (Benfica)


Players on the Bubble: Beto (FC Porto), Hilario (Chelsea), Rolando (FC Porto), Ricardo Costa (Wolfsburg), Maniche (Cologne), Danny (Zenit), Hugo Viana (Braga), Cesar Peixoto (Benfica), Edinho (Malaga), Helder Postiga (Sporting)

Longshots: Daniel Fernandes (V.Bochum), Marco Caneira (Sporting), Nuno Assis (Guimaraes), Quaresma (Inter Milan), Fabio Coentrao (Benfica), Luis Boa Morte (West Ham), Ruben Micael (Nacional), Ruben Amorim (Benfica), Manuel Fernandes (Valencia), Djalo (Sporting)

The Lisbon Derby ends in a scoreless game

The Lisbon Derby is now official in the books and both Benfica and Sporting went into this matchup looking to one up the other but this was not the case for either team as the game ended as it started with a scoreless sheet for both keepers Quim & Rui Patricio. Sporting started the game on the offensive but numerous crosses were caught by Quim and nothing much came off them, Benfica then get the first real chance of the game when Cardozo gets set down the wing and his shot goes just wide of the net. Benfica then start to control the first half and have numerous shots blocked by Sporting defenders. Sporting did not get their first real chance of the half until about the 30th minute mark when Polga shot the ball off the side of the net on a Sporting corner. Liedson then let a howitzer go that was stopped by Quim. Benfica then takes over for the rest of the first half and have numerous shots, stopped, wide or blocked. Ramires on the far wing took a shot that was stopped by Patricio, next up was Pablo Aimar who had his shot punched wide by Sporting's keeper. Javier Saviola then had his low cross stopped by Patricio and yet then Angel Di Maria fakes a shot and sends a pass to the open field that can not be caught by any Benfica player. Sporting were lucky to get out of the half with the game scoreless.

The second half started much as the first had ended with Benfica in the Sporting zone. David Luiz's shot sailed over the Sporting net and then Angel Di Maria shot clangs of the outside of his foot and the ball goes harmlessly out of bounds as he is attacking the Sporting net. Sporting finally get a great chance just over ten minutes into the second half when Miguel Veloso's shot it knocked wide by Quim. The Sporting corner then results in a Vukcevic weak shot that is easily handled by Quim. Javi Garcia suffered a cut to his head at around the 60th minute mark and returned to the game with his head bandaged but this would cause problems for the Benfica midfielder as he would seek treatment for the rest of the game as the blood continued to flow until the final whistle. Jorge Jesus surprisingly did not use one of his substitutions to take Garcia out. The game became quite chippy as both teams looked to win the matchup and the yellow cards and fouls were handed out continously by the match official. Then the biggest non call of the game happened when Ramires looked to cross inside the Sporting box and it was at this moment that Anderson Polga's arm got in the way of the cross. The Benfica players howled for the hand ball call but the referee signaled to play on. TV replays showed that the referee clearly missed the call. Sporting was then awarded a free kick just outside of Benfica's box but Veloso's shot struck the wall and no harm was done. The final big chance of the game was for Benfica's Di Maria who had his shot deflected and the bouncing ball ended up with Ramires but the Benfica midfielder could not control the ball and it was sent over the net.

The Referee blew the final whistle and both teams settled for a hard fought draw. This game was our first live Twittugal game of the season for the Portuguese League and for those who followed us we hope you enjoyed the live Tweets and we plan to do this again for any other big games played this season, anyone that would like to see what happened during the game in Tweet mode just click here to review the game tweets. Braga will now look to regain top spot in the Portuguese League with a win over Uniao de Leiria on Monday, while Sporting need to hope the teams below them draw or lose as they could be sitting in 8th spot when the week is all done.

Follow our Twittugal page during Benfica-Sporting Derby

Sporting host Benfica at the Estadio Avalade in the Classic Lisbon Derby today as the teams meet for the first time this season at 21:15 Portuguese Time and we at P.S.N.L will be bringing you live game breaking plays from the encounter which you can follow on our Twitter page or our Twittugal page , so even if you cant watch the game or hear it on the Radio page , we will keep you informed during the matchup. We hope all the mobile Portuguese Fans enjoy this feature for todays matchup our first of the Superliga season.

Guimaraes open Week 11 with a win

Guimaraes opened up Week 11 of the Superliga (Liga Sagres) with a win over Olhanense. The Portuguese league which was on pause for two weeks resumes this weekend and Guimaraes with goals from Nuno Assis and Targino get themselves a 2-0 victory.

FC Porto fail to claim top spot against Chelsea

FC Porto have failed to claim the top spot in their Champions League Group falling in a hard fought game against Chelsea. The loss by Porto and the win by Chelsea gives the Blues top spot in the group and Porto will have to settle for second spot as both teams prepare for the knockout round of 16. Chelsea got their only marker by Anelka in the second half at the 69th minute mark and Porto failed to score in the game even though the outplayed Chelsea for the most part. Chelsea defeat Porto in the end by a 1-0 score.

Sporting reach 100,000 mark for members

Sporting was pleased to announce yesterday that it has reached the 100,000 mark for club members. The team has announced that the 100,000 member along with member number 1 will be presented today at Avalade.

FC Porto's Taca de Portugal game postponed

FC Porto's Taca de Portugal game has been postponed due to a poor pitch. Porto was set to take on Oliveirense at the Carlos Osorio Stadium but match official Bruno Paixao decided that the pitch was unsafe and could endanger the physical safety of the players. The stadium during heating turned into a mixture of mud and water and the players were buried at each step. The teams will now come to an agreement when the match will be played at a later date

PSNL completes draw for potential Groups for World Cup 2010

Portugal have moved up to #5 in the FIFA World Rankings released yesterday and with this ranking and previous point system, they should be one of the top seeds when the top seed rankings are released and draw completed next month in South Africa.The top countrys will go into pot one and more importantly not seeded together in the first round. Portugal should be joined by defending World Cup Champions Italy and World Cup hosts South Africa. Spain, Brazil, Netherlands, Germany and France should round this top pot. The second pot will have all remaining European countrys and the Oceanic qualifier. The third pot will have the African and North American qualifiers. The fourth pot will have the South American and Asian qualifiers.

The pots could look something like this.

Pot A- PORTUGAL, Italy, Germany, Spain, France, Netherlands, Brazil, South Africa

Pot B- England, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Denmark, Greece, New Zealand

Pot C- Cameroon, Nigeria, Algeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast, USA, Mexico, Honduras

Pot D- Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile, Australia, Japan, South Korea, North Korea.

We here at PSNL then placed all the Countrys in four seperate bowls ready to draw taking note that no Groups will have more then two European countrys and no either continent will be able to be placed in a Group with a team from their own continent.

The Group Results look like this:

Group A- Italy, Serbia, Honduras, North Korea

Group B- Netherlands, Slovenia, Ivory Coast, Argentina

Group C- Brazil, Greece, Ghana, Japan

Group D- PORTUGAL, Switzerland, Mexico, Paraguay

Group E- South Africa, New Zealand, USA, Chile

Group F- Germany, England, Nigeria, South Korea

Group G- Spain, Denmark, Algeria, Uruguay

Group H- France, Slovakia, Cameroon, Australia

We hope you enjoyed this Group draw, I know we did.

Portugal recovery leads them to the World Cup

Portugal have breathed new life into the Portuguese Nation as they have qualified for World Cup 2010 in South Africa. The Portuguese who at one point sat in fourth place in their group before a recovery which has seen them win 5 games straight including todays 1-0 over Bosnia is through to the promise land. The Portuguese have sent the Bosnians packing and given coach Carlos Quieroz a boost at home with fans. The teams opened the game today quite tense, as they sides seemed to feel one another out for the first ten to twenty minutes of the game before Tiago and Raul Meireles had a passing play between them with the Bosnian keeper stopped Meireles at close range. Portugal keep the pressure on the home side as the first half came to an end with Eduardo not tested. When the second half commenced you the Bosnians would come attacking and this was the case as they switched to a 3-5-2 formation but this only lead the Portuguese to counter attack more effectively. Nani had a shot turned aside by the keeper before Nani once again with the ball sent in Raul Meireles alone and the defensive specialist did not disappoint placing the ball perfectly into the corner to give Portugal the lead at the 56th minute mark. This seemed to damage the Bosnians fragile confidence and sent silence through the crowd. Meireles almost made it a two goal lead for Portugal but his shot sailed just wide of the corner a few moments later. The frustration continued for Bosnia who had Salihovic ejected in the 77th minute after a disagreement with the sideline official. This sent the crowd into a frenzy and they pelted the field with objects one even hitting the official as they game was delayed for a few minutes. Once the game resumed Portugal continued there pressure until the final whistle, clinching their spot in the World Cup. The Bosnian field was in horrible condition which seemed to effect the passing game of both teams but never the less Portugal are through and the fans can rejoice with the victory.

Portugal arrive in Bosnia to hostile reception

Portugal arrived in Bosnia to a very hostile reception by Bosnian supporters. The Portuguese players were insulted, spit on and cursed at while Bosnian police did very little to ward of these fans upon Portugal's arrival. The team was delayed for over an hour by authorities as they checked passports and luggage. The Portuguese Football Federation was shocked with the treatment from the fans and authorities after the gracious reception that was given to the Bosnian players in Portugal. The Portuguese Soccer Federation will be reporting Monday's actions to FIFA.

Portuguese League at the one-third mark

The Portuguese Superliga (Liga Sagres) has reached it's one-third mark after ten of the thirty games have been completed and we at PSNL have our one third season reviews. The surprising Sporting Braga and the offensive juggernaut Benfica sit a top the league tied in points with both teams suffering one defeat each, while last seasons defending Champions, FC Porto sit in third spot trailing the league leaders by five points at this point in the season. Braga's impressive run to this season has included victories over the so called Big Three of Portugal. Sporting have struggled in league play to the point that head coach Paulo Bento has stepped down and the club currently sit in a tie for seventh spot but the bigger disappoint this season so far has been Leixoes who last season flirted with the league lead and this season are fighting to avoid the relegation zone and at the moment are tied with the most defeats in league play.

Here we give a quick review of the season:


Surprising Team- Braga

Disappointing Team- Leixoes

Best Offensive Team- Benfica

Best Defensive Team- Braga

Worst Offensive Team- Setubal

Worst Defensive Team- Leixoes

Best Coach- Jorge Jesus (Benfica) & Domingos (Braga)

Best off season acquisition- Javier Saviola (Benfica) & Hugo Viana (Braga)

Best Offensive Player- Oscar Cardozo (Benfica)

Best Goaltender- Eduardo (Braga)

Best Defensemen- Evaldo (Braga)

Most Overrated Player- Felipe Caicedo (Sporting)

Most Surprising Player- Joao Tomas (Rio Ave)

Young Gun Player(under 21)- Angel Di Maria (Benfica

League MVP at 1/3 Mark- Oscar Cardozo (Benfica)

Now we want the fans to let us know who they think is the league MVP at the 1/3 mark.

Who is the 1/3 mark MVP of the Portuguese League
	Oscar Cardozo (Benfica)
	Hugo Viana (Braga)
	Angel Di Maria (Benfica)
	Falcao (FC Porto)
	Eduardo (Braga)
	Edgar (Nacional)
	Bruno Alves (FC Porto)
	Other
Free polls from Pollhost.com

Portugal defeat Bosnia in the first leg

Portugal have defeated Bosnia at the Estadio da Luz today 1-0 to take the first leg as the teams now move to Bosnia for the second leg on Wednesday. Portugal was clearly the better team in this game but was also the lucky team as Bosnia hit two crossbars and a post in this clash.
Portugal started the attack early when Raul Meireles shot wide a common shot for the Portuguese on this night, then Liedson headed the ball just wide of the post on a free kick by Deco. Portugal continued their on slaught as Bruno Alves hammered a shot also wide of the net but Alves would make up for the miss as at the 31st minute mark he headed in a cross from Nani to open the scoring for the Portuguese. The goal looked to have awaken the Bosnians as they took it to the Portuguese for much of the rest of the first half and were almost rewarded when the Bosnia's Ibricic hit the bar just before the end of the half. Portugal then came out strong in the second half as they looked for the two goal lead and Liedson on a pretty play shot the ball jsut wide of the left post. Raul Meireles shot was then stopped by the Bosnian keeper and then minutes later Simao turned the defense inside out but his bad angle shot was easily handled by the keeper. The Bosnians then almost had the stadium silent as Dzeko hit the crossbar and the ricochet went to Muslimovic who somehow shot the ball of the left post and the Portuguese were quick to clear it. The final whistle could not have come quick enough for the Portuguese side who almost shot themselves in the foot in a game that they dominated for the most part. Portugal will now travel to Zenica, Bosnia for the second leg knowing that the Bosnians will be looking for a commanding victory but the Portuguese side also knows that a goal in Bosnia, will force the hosts to score three goals to advance to the World Cup.

Follow our Twittugal page during Portugal game

Portugal will walk into a packed house at the Estadio da Luz today as the play their first leg against Bosnia-Herzegovina and we at P.S.N.L will be bringing you live game breaking plays from the encounter which you can follow on our Twitter page or our Twittugal page , so even if you cant watch the game or hear it on the Radio page , we will keep you informed during the matchup. We hope all the mobile Portuguese Fans enjoy this feature for todays matchup.

Benfica win Taca de Pauleta in the Azores

Benfica traveled to the Azores to take on Santa Clara for the Taca de Pauleta at the Estadio Joao Paulo II in Sao Miguel Island. Benfica with a water downed roster due to International duties for many players jumped to an early lead when Keirrison scored at the 35th minute mark but Santa Clara were up to the task and Leandro Tatu scored to bring the game even at the 51st minute mark. The teams remained deadlocked after full time and the match was sent to penalty kicks where Benfica were triumphant 5-3. Nuno Gomes received the Taca de Pauleta after the game for the victory from Pauleta himself

Potential Portugal starting lineup against Bosnia

Portugal get set for their first leg against Bosnia Saturday as they look to qualify for World Cup 2010. The Portuguese team has a few injuries and the lineup will be a bit different then we have been accustomed too during this qualify campaign. Ronaldo, Bosingwa and Pedro Mendes are all out. Carlos Quieroz will look to have the right starting lineup as the host Bosnia at the Estadio da Luz. Portugal's potential starting lineup could look something like this on Saturday.

Eduardo, Miguel, Bruno Alves, Ricardo Carvalho, Miguel Veloso, Raul Meireles, Pepe, Simao, Nani, Deco and Liedson.

We hope that no matter what the lineup Portugal will be victorious

Benfica's Luisao has emergency operation

Benfica's central defender Luisao had an emergency operation on Tuesday in Portugal due to acute appendicitus. Luisao will remain in hospital until at least the end of the week and will miss the upcoming international friendlies for Brazil over the next week. Benfica at this time is unsure of the time line that Luisao will be out of the lineup.

Former Benfica keeper Robert Enke passes away

Former Benfica keeper and German Robert Enke has passed away at the tender age of 32. Enke who played for Benfica from the 1999-2000 season until 2001-02 before being sold to Barcelona was the current starting keeper for Hannover 96 in the German Bundesliga and is said to have commited suicide after throwing himself in front of a train in the small town of Neustadt. Enke was also said to be battling depression after the passing of his 2 year old daughter in 2007 and this had caused him to be very unstable over the course of the past couple of years. Robert is survived by his wife and and a newly adopted baby girl. PSNL would like to give condolences to the Enke family and all those who are in mourning over this passing, may he rest in peace.

New Look PSNL Blog

The Portuguese Soccer News Links Team has decided to give a new look to our blog page which is a valuable companion to our main page at www.portuguesesoccernewslinks.com, over the next few weeks we will continue to touch up this page and we hope that our valued supporters will enjoy the new look once everything is completed. Thanks for your continued support.

Garcia's late marker moves Benfica into tie at top spot

Benfica got a late marker by Javi Garcia in extra time to break a scoreless draw against Naval and lead Benfica to a 1-0 win. Benfica now moves back into a tie for top spot with Braga, as both teams sit with 25 points at the one third mark of the season.

Portugal announce squad for Bosnia showdown

Portugal coach Carlos Queiroz has announced his squad for the upcoming World Cup playoff against Bosnia coming up on November 14, 2009 and November 18, 2009.

Goaltenders: Eduardo (Braga), Hilario (Chelsea), Rui Patricio (Sporting)

Defenders: Pepe (Real Madrid), Miguel (Valencia), Paulo Ferreira (Chelsea), Ricardo Carvalho (Chelsea), Bruno Alves (FC Porto), Rolando (FC Porto), Ricardo Costa (Wolfsburg)

Midfielders: Deco (Chelsea), Tiago (Juventus), Raul Meireles (FC Porto), Veloso (Sporting), Joao Moutinho (Sporting), Fabio Coentrao (Benfica), Duda (Malaga)

Forwards: C. Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Nani (Man United), Liedson (Sporting), Hugo Almeida (Werder Bremen), Simao (A. Madrid), Edinho (Malaga)

Porto and Sporting both stumble in games

FC Porto and Sporting both stumbled in action today, a day after Braga succumbed to their first defeat. Porto travelled to Madeira to take on Maritimo and were defeated when Rolando deflected a ball into his own net at the 30th minute mark and that was all the scoring of the match as Maritimo defeated Porto 1-0, while Sporting traveled to Rio Ave for a battle and jumped to a 2-0 lead on goals by Matias Fernandez and Joao Moutinho in the first half but Rio Ave fought back in the second half and two goals by Joao Tomas four minutes apart brought the home side back to earn the draw at 2-2.

Braga suffer first defeat at the hands of Guimaraes

Sporting Braga have suffered their first defeat of the Portuguese League at the 1/3rd mark of the season. Braga had gained big victories over Portugal's more powerful teams in FC Porto, Benfica and Sporting but fell this week in Guimaraes to their Local Derby rivals 1-0 on a 30th minute goal by Desmarets. The loss now gives Benfica a chance to tie Braga at the top of the league once again if they defeat Naval.

Pacos get big win over Belenenses

Pacos Ferreira opened Week 10 of the Superliga (Liga Sagres) with a big win over floundering Belenenses. Cristiano scored a brace and William added the other as Pacos moved out of the relegation zone.

Benfica win and Nacional draw in Europa League

Benfica and Nacional were in action today along with Sporting in the Europa League. Benfica scored two goals in the second half to defeat Everton on the road 2-0 on goals by Javier Saviola and Oscar Cardozo. Nacional took the lead once again against Athletic Bilbao on a goal by Edgar before Athletic tied it with eight minutes to draw Nacional 1-1. Sporting had their perfect run halted against Ventspils as the visitors tied 1-1 at the Estadio Jose Avalade with Sporting's goal coming from Carlos Saleiro

Nacional President expects record transfer

Nacional President Rui Alves expects to set a Nacional transfer record when the team sells Portuguese midfielder Ruben Micael. The 23 year old midfielder is being held in high record and Nacional will not let him go without a team matching their asking price of $10M Euro. Micael has scored two goals in Europa League play this season.

Porto move on to Round of 16 after win

FC Porto got a late goal in the 84th minute from striker Falcao to go on to defeat APOEL 1-0 in Champions League action. The goal by Falcao clinched a spot for Porto in the Round of 16 with two games remaining in the Group Stage. FC Porto will now look to fine tune their game in the next couple of rounds of play and look to fight Chelsea for the Group Title.

Academica earn first win of the season over Guimaraes

Academica earned their first win of the season over Guimaraes to move to within one point of four teams as they try to exit the cellar of the portuguese league. Academica's Sougou gave his team the lead on a penalty kick and then Eder added to the league as Academica went on to the 2-0 victory

Sporting fall back after draw with Maritimo

Sporting have falling back a few spots in the Portuguese Superliga after drawing today against Maritimo. Sporting looked to cement their fourth place spot but after the draw with Maritimo coupled with Rio Ave and Nacional victories, Sporting now sit tied in sixth spot in the league. Sporting opened the scoring in the second half after Matias Fernandez scored but Manu brought the game back to square with a quick shot and the game ended 1-1. Sporting look to get back to their winning ways in the UEFA Europa League later this week