Scolari offers his reserves a chance to shine

PORTUGAL coach Luiz Felipe Scolari is already planning for the World Cup knockout stages — but claims the reserves he will use in the today’s Group D fixture with Mexico could play their way into his first-choice line-up for the last 16 match with Argentina or Holland.

Portugal are already into the knockout stage for the first time since 1966 — when a Eusebio-inspired side were knocked out by England in the semi-finals — and Scolari admits that losing against Mexico would not be the end of the world.

Scolari is thinking only of the last 16 and thus will rest his five players who are already on a yellow card against the Mexicans — the quintet are Cristiano Ronaldo, Nuno Valente, Costinha, Deco and Pedro Pauleta.