Portugal look for quick lift

COACH Luiz Felipe Scolari needs to lift his Portugal players after their humiliating failure to beat part-timers Liechtenstein when his side take on Russia in a World Cup qualifier tomorrow.

“I’ll be talking to the players in the hope of wiping the memory of this debacle from their minds,” the Brazilian said after the squad returned from Vaduz where they drew 2-2 in their Group Three qualifier on Saturday.

“We shall recover our confidence and our concentration for the Russia game,” he said.

Liechtenstein, who had lost 20 straight World Cup qualifiers over eight years, came back from two goals down to earn the shock draw against the European Championship finalists.

Deco and Simao Sabrosa received knocks against Liechtenstein but should be fit for tomorrow. Injured defender Miguel Monteiro should also be in the squad.

Russian Dmitri Alenitchev said he was expecting a strong Portuguese reaction after the shock weekend result. “The fact that Portugal drew could make life difficult for us because Scolari will have been really angry.”

The Russians are missing five players through injury. They beat Luxembourg 4-0 on Saturday, with a hat-trick from Dimitri Sychev and have four points from two games.

Slovakia lead the group with 10 from four and Portugal are second with seven from three. Estonia have also played three and have six points.