Scolari admits selection mistakes

Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari laid into himself and his players after their 2-0 defeat to Switzerland in their final Group A game at Euro 2008.

With his side having already qualified for the last eight, Scolari made eight changes to the Portuguese side.

But the man who takes over as Chelsea boss on 1 July said: "I made a big mistake. I should have made 11 changes. But I thought we would play normally.

"I just couldn't have imagined that the group would have ended this way."

Only goalkeeper Ricardo and defenders Paulo Ferreira and Pepe kept their places from Portugal's 3-1 win over Czech Republic on Wednesday.

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But Switzerland striker Hakan Yakin struck twice, once from the penalty spot, to condemn Portugal to their first defeat in 14 competitive matches.

Scolari added: "I made a calculation. I tried to see what players had been playing more during the season, how many had been injured.

"That's why I decided to replace eight, to try to keep a certain amount of consistency that could help the squad.

"We had a few opportunities. But we didn't score a goal to give us an advantage and later we will see the consequences of this.

"I should have been more careful and replaced 11 rather than eight players."

Portugal will play the second-placed team in Group B - either Germany, Austria or Poland - in the quarter-finals on Thursday 19 June in Basel.

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