I'm in a long winded mood today .... sorry for the length. More short sentences and thoughts needed!
That's a shame for Italy. They are already suffering without Cannavaro and a misfiring attack.
Shame for Italy is also that they haven`t introduced a decent midfielder for ages.
That's a true statement. On a whole there's a lack of youth breaking through for Italy. Old team. Need more youth. Italy have had an odd number of players that breakout at about 25-28 years of age over the past few seasons .... and play at a high level for a couple of years so maybe they get lucky and get something there over the next few years. Otherwise their next cast of characters looks very thin on talent.
That`s another way to look at it. You may want to have CR free so he can run with the ball create for Nuno but German central defenders are too slow not to try taking advantage of it. Also if CR plays in the midfield would you put him left or right? If Lam is defending him then Germany loses a valuable asset in game creation. But also Lam can contain CR better than other defenders. I guess it`s a little difficult to be a coach 
But if Portugal is forced to go with long balls even with Gomez up front then i can`t see them beating Germany.
I think he'll start on the right with Simao on the left.
I wouldn't be too bothered about which side Ronaldo starts on. He'll float around from the sideline back inside, up front and deep, switch wings and find the spots where he's most effective. He pretty much has a free role. The rest of the team can adapt to that. Portugal's wingers all seem adaptable and effective on either flank.
Ronaldo will have opportunities to run at the German center backs from his position on the wing and it'll be easier for him because instead of working 1 on 2 where he recieves the ball with his back to the goal he'll be getting the pass on the move facing the goal and will have Nuno there taking up one defender allowing Ronaldo more room to work against only one defender.
Ronaldo and Lahm would be a very good battle. I was only thinking about Lahm's defensive ability but limiting his attacking runs would be a nice coup for Portugal. Interesting way to look at it. They'd have a very good battle like Ashley Cole and Ronaldo do although Lahm will come off worse in that battle/comparison.
I'm sorry but I can't go on ... Ronaldo would have a huge height advantage .... please just a few long balls? Let the keeper use his goal kicks out to Ronaldo and take advantage of the little guy? No? Big difference between Rolando fighting for headers with Lahm than Mertesacker. Just on goal kicks? C'mon? Ronaldo is great in the air. So few wingers with his size physically. I'd like to see every goal kick go to Ronaldo in this game. It will really irritate the opposition after awhile.
Nuno Games will need to link together the play anyway whether it's the long ball or a short passing game. He's the guy that allows everyone else freedom going forward by providing balanced spacing, holding up the ball when required and keeping the ball moving with quick passing when that's required. He'll keep the two center backs busy for the night which means they're not doing other things. He'll make the odd run which will give his teammates more space to exploit. All one striker formations require their strikers to do that. It makes a huge difference when you have a striker who is only so-so or undisciplined at these tasks .... which Ronaldo would be because it's not how he plays football and to make things doubly worse asking Ronaldo to do so limits his attacking gifts.
Nuno Gomes isn't much of a player at this level but he does offer some good things to the side. I think he should be starting up front. It's not so much about Nuno Gomes as the rest of the team. I think they're better off with him in there despite Quaresma clearly being a more talented player. The balance is better.
It would be some sight to see a gifted striker like a Van Nistelrooy in that national team with the service and talents in midfield plus the defensive qualities of their backline.
