Scolari set to leave Portugal after World Cup

Brazilian Luiz Felipe Scolari will quit as coach of Portugal's national side after next year's World Cup finals, the president of the Portuguese FA, Gilberto Madail, said yesterday.

"If the World Cup goes badly, naturally Scolari will not continue, but if it goes well, it will also be impossible to keep him, although we wanted to keep him," Madail told the daily Correio de Manha.

Scolari became Portugal's coach after leading Brazil to its fifth World Cup victory in 2002 and took Portugal to the final of Euro 2004 in Lisbon last year which they surprisingly lost to Greece.

Portugal secured their place in the 2006 World Cup finals on Sunday with a 2-1 win over Liechtenstein and complete their fixtures with a home match against Latvia tomorrow.

They have clinched first place in Group Three with eight wins and three draws from their 11 matches, and are currently the top scorers in the European qualifying programme with 32 goals, having conceded just five.

"He will stay until the World Cup," Madail confirmed, "but if it was up to me, he would stay beyond that."