Portugal

Rank: 3 World Cup appearances: 5 tournaments Best result: Top SCORERS (QUALIFYING) Cristiano Ronaldo (8)   For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. Did you know? Portugal FA demanded a video game console in every room and 6 security guards, 2 of whom will be dedicated to look after Cristiano Ronaldo at all times.

Portugal's troubles in the World Cup qualifiers have shown that they will need a lot more than an on-song Cristiano Ronaldo if they are to mount a serious challenge in Brazil. Although they can beat any team on their day, Portugal are prone to unexplained lapses and can be chronically wasteful in attack.
Portugal reached Brazil in style with Ronaldo netting all their goals over the two legs of a memorable 4-2 aggregate playoff win over Sweden. But that performance masked a difficult qualification campaign in which they were held to unexpected draws by Northern Ireland and Israel and forced into the drama of a two-leg playoff after losing Group F's top spot to Russia.
After years of basing their game around a playmaker, firstly Rui Costa and then Deco, Portugal have changed their style to try and get the best out of Ronaldo. Although they traditionally play a possession game, under Bento they have started to mix this with long passes into space for Ronaldo and Nani to run on to.
After Ronaldo, midfielder Joao Moutinho has become the most influential player in the team. The Monaco player is part of a fluid three-man midfield triangle which dictates the pace, tirelessly recovering balls and delivering pinpoint passes. Joao Pereira and Fabio Coentrao are two energetic full-backs who like to burst forward and, in Pepe and Bruno Alves, they have a fiery, intense pair of centre-backs, sometimes too much so. There has often been a rough edge to Portugal's play and they were involved in a notorious game against the Netherlands in the 2006 World Cup which produced 16 yellow cards and four reds.

STRENGTH
Experience
There is plenty of experience in the side with Raul Meireles, Bruno Alves, Postiga, Pepe and Pereira all over 30.

WEAKNESS
Centre-forward
A big concern is the centre-forward position where Helder Postiga and Hugo Almeida have been less than clinical while Nani is highly unpredictable and prone to tantrums.
Lack of marquee midfielder
Somehow, Portugal have failed to produce any sort of 'destroyer' midfielder and have come to rely on Miguel Veloso as the deepest player. It makes for a curious system, and there are some imbalances to be found by the top teams.

Cristiano Ronaldo: The marmite of football: you either love him or loathe him.

ONE TO WATCH
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo finally ended Lionel Messi's four-year reign as soccer's best player in 2013 and a starring role for Portugal at the World Cup finals would cap another stellar season for the astonishing forward.
The 29-year-old from humble roots on the island of Madeira is now a marketing phenomenon with almost 80 million followers on Facebook. He scooped his second Ballon d'Or award in January.
While he inspires a mixture of love and loathing among fans of all stripes, few would dispute he is one of the greatest goal-scorers to have played the game.
Ronaldo is more like a racehorse, galloping past defenders and firing thunderbolt shots from all directions. He became Portugal's top goalscorer when two goals in a 5-1 friendly win against Cameroon in March took his tally to 49 in 110 games.
Despite the deluge of goals, he has sometimes been accused of going missing in the big games and he failed to score against Spain in the round of 16 at the World Cup finals in 2010 or in the semi-finals of Euro 2012.
However, after an erratic Portuguese qualifying campaign he single-handedly secured their berth at the finals in Brazil when he netted all four goals over the two legs of their 4-2 aggregate success against Sweden in November's playoff.

Coach: Paulo Bento
Portugal coach Paulo Bento will have a chance to wipe out unhappy World Cup memories when he leads his side in Brazil.
Bento played for Portugal in the 2002 World Cup when they were eliminated in the group stage after a poor campaign and the 1-0 defeat by South Korea turned out to be the last of his 35 international appearances.
Twelve years later, Bento returns to the World Cup stage, having steered Portugal clear of turbulent waters.
The former Sporting coach took over a disgruntled squad in September 2010 after an awful start to their European Championship qualification campaign.
He has a reputation for being a disciplinarian, although his own playing career was marred by a six-month international ban for his aggressive behaviour towards the referee during Portugal's Euro 2000 semifinal exit.

Squad
Goalkeepers: Beto (Sevilla), Eduardo (SC Braga), Rui Patrício (Sporting)
Defenders: André Almeida (Benfica), Bruno Alves (Fenerbahçe), Fábio Coentrão (Real Madrid), João Pereira (Valencia), Neto (Zenit), Pepe (Real Madrid), Ricardo Costa (Valência)
Midfielders: João Moutinho (Monaco), Miguel Veloso (D. Kiev), Raul Meireles (Fenerbahçe), Rúben Amorim (Benfica), William Carvalho (Sporting)
Forwards: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Éder (SC Braga), Postiga (Lazio), Hugo Almeida (Besiktas), Nani (Manchester United), Rafa (SC Braga), Varela (FC Porto), Vieirinha (Wolfsburg)