Portugal held out against ten-man Mexico to triumph 2-1 in Gelsenkirchen and finish top of Group D.
Luiz Felipe Scolari's side started the game superbly, racing into a two-goal lead inside 24 minutes but were extremely fortunate to get the three points after Jose Fonseca pulled one back for Mexico.
Omar Bravo missed a second half penalty and Luis Perez was controversially shown a second yellow card for diving, just after the hour mark.
Little wonder that Scolari was raging on the touchline as he saw his much-changed team struggle to impose any sort of authority over opponents who displayed plenty of craft, guile and passion for the occasion. Even though events in the Iran-Angola clash were enabling them to qualify, El Tricolores dominated the second period with ten men and should have claimed at least a point.
Fonseca forced an early save out of Ricardo but Portugal were soon into their stride, despite resting five of their biggest stars. Maniche fed Simao Sabrosa who tore down the left before returning a pass to the midfielder, and he rocketed an unstoppable drive into the top corner of the net.
A goal after six minutes may have set Portugal on their way but Bravo was unlucky when prodding a Pavel Pardo centre wide. Instead, Scolari's side went 2-0 ahead when Rafael Marquez inexplicably handled as Fernando Meira tried to meet a Luis Figo corner. Simao kept his cool to crack home the spot-kick, despite the antics of Oswaldo Sanchez on his goalline.
Sanchez then saved from Helder Postiga and Tiago blazed over the rebound but that was about as good as it got for the Euro 2004 finalists, who were then pegged back by Ricardo Lavolpe's men.
A combination of Ricardo and the bar contrived to deny Bravo when a goal seemed certain but Fonseca soon pulled one back when diverting home a simple header from a Pardo corner to make it 2-1.
Poor defending by Ricardo Carvalho enabled Fonseca to loop a header wide and Ricardo was stretched by Pardo's well-struck effort. Another exquisite cross from Pardo caused panic in the Portugal box and Armando Petit scrambled it away after Ricardo had waved a hand at the ball and managed to survive.
The second half continued to see Mexico dominate with Marquez moved back to defence after failing to impress in midfield. Pardo, the outstanding player on the pitch, belted a free kick wide and Fonseca tested Ricardo.
The game entered a critical phase on 57 minutes as Miguel flew into a challenge and handled when Perez tried to work an opening inside the box. Bravo stepped up but produced the worst penalty you are likely to see in the finals as the ball flew well off target, leaving Scolari visibly relieved on the bench.
Four minutes later, Perez tumbled under more pressure from Miguel and referee Lubos Michel decided to penalise the attacker, waving a yellow card at the Mexican for diving and then producing the red. It was extremely harsh and Portugal could have expected to alter the course of the game with a one-man advantage.
Yet Bravo was guilty of another terrible miss when springing the off-side trap but failing to give Pardo's excellent through ball the finish it deserved. It was another let-off for Portugal and they briefly burst into life with Tiago and substitute Nuno Gomes producing noteworthy attempts.
Another substitute, Chelsea's Paulo Ferreira, was fortunate not to concede a third penalty in the game when foolishly lunging at Bravo and things were clearly not going Mexico's way. When Ricardo saved Fonseca's curler, defeat was inevitable.
Maniche and Tiago had long-range efforts in the closing stages but Portugal were relieved to hear the final whistle as they were rewarded for their outstanding start to the match, along with a huge slice of luck with the major refereeing decisions.
Luiz Felipe Scolari's side started the game superbly, racing into a two-goal lead inside 24 minutes but were extremely fortunate to get the three points after Jose Fonseca pulled one back for Mexico.
Omar Bravo missed a second half penalty and Luis Perez was controversially shown a second yellow card for diving, just after the hour mark.
Little wonder that Scolari was raging on the touchline as he saw his much-changed team struggle to impose any sort of authority over opponents who displayed plenty of craft, guile and passion for the occasion. Even though events in the Iran-Angola clash were enabling them to qualify, El Tricolores dominated the second period with ten men and should have claimed at least a point.
Fonseca forced an early save out of Ricardo but Portugal were soon into their stride, despite resting five of their biggest stars. Maniche fed Simao Sabrosa who tore down the left before returning a pass to the midfielder, and he rocketed an unstoppable drive into the top corner of the net.
A goal after six minutes may have set Portugal on their way but Bravo was unlucky when prodding a Pavel Pardo centre wide. Instead, Scolari's side went 2-0 ahead when Rafael Marquez inexplicably handled as Fernando Meira tried to meet a Luis Figo corner. Simao kept his cool to crack home the spot-kick, despite the antics of Oswaldo Sanchez on his goalline.
Sanchez then saved from Helder Postiga and Tiago blazed over the rebound but that was about as good as it got for the Euro 2004 finalists, who were then pegged back by Ricardo Lavolpe's men.
A combination of Ricardo and the bar contrived to deny Bravo when a goal seemed certain but Fonseca soon pulled one back when diverting home a simple header from a Pardo corner to make it 2-1.
Poor defending by Ricardo Carvalho enabled Fonseca to loop a header wide and Ricardo was stretched by Pardo's well-struck effort. Another exquisite cross from Pardo caused panic in the Portugal box and Armando Petit scrambled it away after Ricardo had waved a hand at the ball and managed to survive.
The second half continued to see Mexico dominate with Marquez moved back to defence after failing to impress in midfield. Pardo, the outstanding player on the pitch, belted a free kick wide and Fonseca tested Ricardo.
The game entered a critical phase on 57 minutes as Miguel flew into a challenge and handled when Perez tried to work an opening inside the box. Bravo stepped up but produced the worst penalty you are likely to see in the finals as the ball flew well off target, leaving Scolari visibly relieved on the bench.
Four minutes later, Perez tumbled under more pressure from Miguel and referee Lubos Michel decided to penalise the attacker, waving a yellow card at the Mexican for diving and then producing the red. It was extremely harsh and Portugal could have expected to alter the course of the game with a one-man advantage.
Yet Bravo was guilty of another terrible miss when springing the off-side trap but failing to give Pardo's excellent through ball the finish it deserved. It was another let-off for Portugal and they briefly burst into life with Tiago and substitute Nuno Gomes producing noteworthy attempts.
Another substitute, Chelsea's Paulo Ferreira, was fortunate not to concede a third penalty in the game when foolishly lunging at Bravo and things were clearly not going Mexico's way. When Ricardo saved Fonseca's curler, defeat was inevitable.
Maniche and Tiago had long-range efforts in the closing stages but Portugal were relieved to hear the final whistle as they were rewarded for their outstanding start to the match, along with a huge slice of luck with the major refereeing decisions.
