Scolari: Portugal can still advance

Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari insisted Portugal ‘have the team’ to advance from Group G despite losing 4-0 to Germany.

Portugal’s FIFA World Cup campaign took a battering on Monday with a Thomas Muller hat-trick and Mats Hummels’ header handing Germany victory in Salvador.

At the past four World Cups ,only 8.6 per cent of teams that lost their opening game qualified for the round of 16 but Scolari, who coached Portugal from 2003 to 2008, believes his former team could manage it.

“Portugal must put this defeat behind them and get a win in their next game and then win again in the third game to go through,” Scolari said.

“Portugal have the team to come through.”

Scolari, who is leading Brazil at this year’s World Cup finals, reminded Portugal that he had led them out of a group at Euro 2004 on home soil despite a 2-1 loss to Greece in their opening game.

Portugal went on to beat Russia 2-0 and Spain 1-0 to reach the quarter-finals, and then advanced past England and the Netherlands before losing to Greece in the final.

“I should like to remind Portugal and my Portuguese friends that at Euro 2004, when I was coach, we lost our opening group game and then won the others to qualify for the second phase,” Scolari said.

Portugal’s next opponent in Brazil will be the United States, who Paulo Bento’s men will face in Manaus on June 22, while the Europeans will complete their Group G commitments against Ghana in Brasilia four days later.