There are no gifts in football - Queiroz

Portugal coach Carlos Queiroz yesterday warned about the perils of approaching tonight's World Cup encounter with Malta with an air of overconfidence.

Portugal are heavily tipped to cruise to a resounding victory in their final qualifier but Queiroz would have none of it.

"My major concern before a match of this kind is to create a sense of responsibility among my players," Queiroz told reporters.

"I want them to understand that there are no easy games and nothing falls from the sky. There are no gifts in football.

"The more we believe that we should win this game, the bigger the obligation. This means that we have to work harder to win.

"We must stay concentrated from the first till the last minute. There's pressure on us but we must play to win and to do this, we have to expose the weaknesses of our opponents and express our best football.

"If we start to play with low intensity and no rhythm, we will have problems."

Queiroz has left nothing to chance in his preparations for today's match in Guimarães.

"We have followed Malta from the start (of the qualifying campaign)," Queiroz explained.

"We have information about every Maltese player. The only thing I'm not sure about is how Malta will play tactically because they have a new coach. But we have to focus on our game."

Queiroz was booed when his name was announced before the Hungary match on Saturday but Portugal won 3-0 and are now favourites to keep second place.

"We are not there yet. We won the game on Saturday and that has to be transported to the game in Guimarães," Queiroz said.

Meanwhile, Nani is favourite to replace Cristiano Ronaldo tonight and Portugal will hope Simao Sabrosa can prove as dangerous as in the Hungary match when he scored twice.

Queiroz's toughest decision may be in midfield, with Pepe back from suspension and competing against Pedro Mendes who responded to a surprise late call-up with a fine performance against Hungary.