Portugal keep it tight at the back
Portugal joined France and Russia in winning their first leg of the play-off in the race to reach South Africa for the 2010 World Cup.
A 1-0 win is a slender lead to take to second leg on Wednesday night but at least they denied Bosnia and Herzegovina the opportunity to grab an away goal. Portugal know that a win or draw in the return tie will see them off to the World Cup but even a single goal defeat where they score will be enough to see Portugal at the major event.
Just after the half hour mark, defender Bruno Alvez popped up at the back post to nod home what proved to be the only goal of the game. There was a let off for Portugal before half-time when the away team rattled the cross-bar but more bad luck was to follow in the second half.
Twice the woodwork came to Portugal’s rescue meaning that Bosnia and Herzegovina struck the frame of the goal three times in the match, and leaving the away team slightly demoralised. There will be some cause for optimism with the fact that they were able to create so many chances but the inability to take one has made the task of qualifying much more difficult.
With not much time before the return legs, both sets of players will be focussed on the task at hand and both will have a large degree of confidence about being able to finish the job. Whether the missed opportunities will come back to haunt Bosnia and Herzegovina will be found out in a few days time.
WorldCup2010 reader Honest Jim predicts that Bosnia and Herzegovina will be strong favourites for the second leg.
Do you agree with him?
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