Scolari settles on Portugal's Euro 2004 line-up

Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari said he already knew which players he will select for the Euro 2004 finals which Portugal is hosting from June

Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari said he already knew which players he will select for the Euro 2004 finals which Portugal is hosting from June.

"I have more or less defined what I want. We have to work on integration now," he said before the team's friendly here against Italy.

"After 14 months I can guarantee that the Portuguese squad is today almost like a family, with the normal difficulties that a family has."

Scolari, who took over the Portugal side in January 2003 after leading Brazil to a record fifth win in 2002 World Cup, is expected to announce his squad for the championships in May.

This means Portugal's next warm-up home match against Sweden on April 28 will likely provide would-be candidates with their last chance to prove themselves.

Portugal are scheduled to play Luxembourg on May 29 and Lithuania on June 5, a week before beginning their Group A campaign against Greece on June 12. Russia and Spain are their other group opponents.

Scolari has made greater use of Portugal's young talent since taking over.

Players such as Manchester United's teenaged midfielder Cristiano Ronaldo have been regularly called on to mix with Luis Figo and other members of Portugal's so-called "golden generation" who won the World Under-16 crown in 1989 and the World Under-19 title in 1991.