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To earn one of the final four places in Euro 2012, Portugal will face Bosnia and Herzegovina in a double leg elimination match. Tyronne Green Jersey . The action begins on Friday in Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina and concludes Tuesday in Lisbon, Portugals capital. Catch the first leg of action from Bosnia and Herzegovina live, Friday at 2pm et/11am pt on TSN2 and TSN Mobile TV. Coming into qualification, Portugal was considered one of the early favourites to not only advance straight into the tournament but be one of the top teams when everything was said and done. Their campaign got off to a rocky start in Group H when they welcomed Cyprus to Guimaraes. The visitors struck just three minutes into the game to put Portugal on the back foot and even after scoring the tying goal five minutes later, the home side was down once again after giving up a second at the 11 minute mark. When Manuel Fernandes put Portugal ahead 4-3 at the hour mark of the game they had appeared to survive their opener with maximum points but Andreas Avraams header in the 89th minute sent both teams home with a single point. The campaign did not improve for Portugal when they traveled to Norway for their second group contest. Despite a strong offensive push, especially in the second half of the match, they were unable to equalize after Erik Huseklepp put Norway ahead in the 21st minute and fell to a 1-0 defeat, earning just one point in their first two games. A start so poor in fact that prior to resuming international play, Portugal fired manager Carlos Queiroz and replaced him with former Sporting Lisbon coach Paulo Bento. Bento and his new squad hosted Denmark in his first game and just two minutes apart in the opening half, Manchester United midfielder Nani found the net. His two goals scored in the 29th and 31st minutes; coupled with an 89th minute marker from Cristiano Ronaldo gave Bento and Portugal a 3-1 victory, their first win in the competition. With the momentum gained from the coaching change and victory, Portugal dispatched Iceland 3-1 in a game that saw Ronaldo score from a free kick after three minutes played and was not really away till substitute Helder Postiga scored in the 72nd minute. Heading into their second game with Norway, Portugal trailed both them and Denmark by three points and needed a win in order to stay in the thick of Group H competition. Postiga, who scored the goal that sealed the previous victory, scored the only goal at home against Norway to create the three way tie and allow Portugal to control their own destiny in the group they were picked to win when the competition began. Perhaps one of the most important games in their progress was the 4-0 victory they earned in Cyprus. After scoring in the first half, Ronaldos late penalty goal sparked a three marker finish that helped increase Portugals goal differential. After knocking off Iceland in a wild 5-3 game, they needed only a draw in the final match with Denmark in order to book themselves a place into the main draw of Euro 2012. The game, played at Parken Stadium in Copenhagen exposed the same defensive deficiencies that popped up for Portugal throughout the qualifying tournament. They found themselves down two goals just after the hour mark of the contest when Arsenals Nicklas Bendtner headed home to double the Denmark lead. Two minutes into extra time Ronaldo broke the shutout but it was too little too late as the Danes held on to capture the group with a 2-1 victory. Portugal finished in a second place tie with Norway who they split their contests with but due to a superior goal differential were able to advance to the knockout phase for a second chance at qualification. To make good on that second chance and play in the main draw at Euro 2012 they will have to defeat Bosnia and Herzegovina who were the runner ups in Group D. While Portugal would be slightly disappointed to have to qualify for the tournament through the knockout phase, Bosnia and Herzegovina came within half an hour of shocking a former world champion and outright winning their group. For the Bosnians qualification began with a bang in September of last year. They defeated Luxembourg on the road 3-0, scoring all three goals in the first 16 minutes of the game, to open their campaign while watching the groups favoured team France fall in their opener. The good feelings however would not last as they were blanked at home in their next match by France who got goals from Karim Benzema and Chelseas Florent Malouda. In their next game, they traded first half goals with Albania, scoring first and then giving up the equalizer to pick up a point on the road. When qualification resumed in March of this year, Bosnia and Herzegovina was right in the thick of the Group D process. Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko scored in the 83rd minute for a 2-1 Bosnian victory at home against Romania. Their next game was in Romania and the home side came out in an attacking posture and overwhelmed Bosnia and Herzegovina with a 3-0 victory that dropped the visitors down to third place. The group turned for Bosnia and Herzegovina when they welcomed Albania to Zenica. Haris Medunjanin opened the scoring in that contest and after Albania had been reduced to 10-men, Darko Maletic doubled the lead and captured all three points for the home side. They carried that form into a two game sweep of Belarus including a 1-0 victory on the road that featured a Zvjezdan Misimovic goal and two red cards that reduced the Belarusian side to nine men making their comeback almost impossible. Bosnia and Herzegovina clinched their place in the knockout stage with a 5-0 defeat over Luxembourg with familiar faces such as Misimovic and Dzeko finding the score sheet. The victory sent them into a final day showdown with France, needing an upset victory to claim their spot in the main tournament draw. The match, which was played at the Stade de France in Saint Denis could have seen Bosnias first ever qualification into a major soccer tournament if they were able to overcome the French side. Dzeko, who would be their leading scorer throughout the qualification process, shocked the stadium when he put the visitors ahead in the 40th minute sending them into half with a chance to defend for the win. However it wasnt to be as Emir Spahic fouled Dzekos Manchester City teammate Samir Nasri in the area and he converted the penalty to earn the draw and send France directly into Euro 2012. Bosnia and Herzegovina have a history in playoffs against Portugal as the two teams met in the final knockout stage qualifier for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Portugal advanced into the tournament with a 2-0 aggregate victory scoring both home and away 1-0 wins to eliminate the Bosnians. Bryan Stork Official . But after playing in England for more than a decade, Reo-Coker already recognized a key issue. He faces an adjustment as he prepares for his first Major League Soccer season. Brandon Browner Jersey . Barcelona says Pique tore a muscle in his right leg. The Spain international will miss Spanish league games against Almeria and Valladolid, but should be back for the Champions league match against Manchester City on March 12.The NHL has not decided whether to let its players participate in the Olympics beyond this year, casting doubt on who will be competing for hockey gold in four years. With the league set to push pause on its season for next months Sochi Olympics, Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly also is allowing for the possibility of a security issue that could keep the players from travelling to Russia at all. "As of now, we do not doubt that all necessary steps are being taken by the Sochi Organizing Committee, the Russian government and the IOC to ensure the safety of the athletes and guests in Sochi," Daly wrote Monday in an email to The Associated Press. "Obviously, if something significant were to transpire between now and February 9 that causes us to question that conclusion, we will re-evaluate. I dont expect that that will become necessary." Russian security has been looking for three potential female suicide bombers, one of whom is believed to be in Sochi. The country has assembled what is believed to be the biggest security operation ever for an Olympics with more than 50,000 police and soldiers. "The NHLPA continues to be in contact with Olympic and security officials regarding plans for the Olympic Games in Sochi, and will work closely with all concerned to monitor matters in advance of and during the Games," NHL Players Association spokesman Jonathan Weatherdon wrote in an email. Swedens Daniel Alfredsson has competed in each of the last four Olympics with players from the league and is looking forward to a fifth and probably final time next month. The 41-year-old Detroit Red Wings forward said it would be "bad" for the NHL to take the unique experience away from its players in the future. "Its an unbelievable experience," Alfredsson said. The NHL and the players association will decide on future Olympic participation after Sochi, just as they have done since the top players started participating in the games in 1998. League officials just arent sure freezing their league for two-plus weeks in the middle of the season is good for business -- especially when the Olympics are not in the U.S. or Canada. "The North American experiences have been better than far-away Olympics for a host reasons, including exposure," Daly said in a recent interview with the AP. "When you have a North American-based Olympics, you can have a shorter period without NHL games. Were going to have the longest break weve ever had, and that could interruppt momentum for teams and have an effect on their competitiveness based on how many players they have playing, and how many injuries they have in Sochi. Andre Tippett Jersey. " The NHL had 150 of its players -- at least one for each of the 12 countries in the tournament -- picked to play. The league will not have any games from Feb. 9 through Feb. 24, a 16-day window that is between major American sporting events: the Super Bowl and the NCAA mens college basketball tournament. Instead of directly benefiting from the decreased competition for time and money from casual fans, the league can only hope that allowing its players to be in the Olympics draws more people to the game. "There are potential negative impacts with participating midseason in the Olympics and that factors into the overall analysis of whether its a good idea for us to go or not," Daly said. When the Sidney Crosby-led Canadians beat the Americans for gold four years ago in Vancouver, nearly 35 million people watched on TV. "Its pretty obvious to say its good for the game," Chicago Blackhawks and U.S. forward Patrick Kane said. But even if theres a rematch in the gold-medal game on Feb. 23, the audience likely will be much smaller because the puck is scheduled to drop at 4 p.m. in Sochi and at 7 a.m. or earlier in North America. Would the NHL let its players compete in the Winter Olympics only when theyre held in North America? "I dont think thats where we would go, but I wouldnt rule it out," Daly said. Players, seemingly universally, want to play in the Winter Olympics for the sixth straight time in 2018 in South Korea -- and beyond. The NHL and NHL Players Association have been in talks about bringing back the World Cup of Hockey that wouldnt conflict with the leagues regular season. Daly said the NHL and NHLPA are both in favour of creating a uniform international calendar. "A World Cup should clearly play a part in that," Daly said. NHL players, meanwhile, dont want a World Cup of Hockey -- perhaps every two years -- to replace an opportunity to play in the Olympics. "The World Cup would be cool, but the Olympics are something else," said Swedish and Detroit Red Wings goaltender Jonas Gustavsson, who was picked to play for his country in a second straight Olympics. "Its all the best athletes in all the sports in one place, trying to get gold. To take the best hockey players out of the Olympics would be wrong and would be a shame." cheap jerseys ' ' ' |
