PREVIEW-Soccer-Shock loss means Serbia must see off Portugal

By Zoran Milosavljevic

BELGRADE, March 26 (Reuters) - Saturday's shock defeat to Kazakhstan has put Serbia under pressure to keep their Euro 2008 qualifying campaign on track against Portugal when they meet in a Group A match on Wednesday.

The stunning 2-1 reverse in Almaty -- Kazakhstan's first competitive victory since joining UEFA in 2002 -- left the Serbs fourth in the eight-team group, level on points with Portugal who impressed in their 4-0 rout of Belgium. Group leaders Poland have 14 points from six matches, second-placed Finland have 11 from five while Portugal and Serbia have 10 each from five matches.

Centre back Nemanja Vidic, who stood in as captain for the suspended Dejan Stankovic on Saturday, believes the back four can do a better job against a fearsome Portuguese attack led by his Manchester United team mate Cristiano Ronaldo.

"It seems we always have to do it the hard way but there is no getting away from it now. We have put ourselves under pressure with the slip-up in Kazakhstan but I am sure we have the character to respond," he said.

"We need support from our fans now more than ever and we will play our hearts out to get a result against Portugal, who also need to come away with something. It's going to be a completely open match."

"There are plenty of games left and it's where you finish at the end of the road that counts. Ironically, that's exactly what Ronaldo told me after their 2-1 reverse to Poland."

Coach Javier Clemente, who has faced strong criticism for his line-up and strategy against the Kazakhs, will welcome Stankovic's return from the one-match ban but will miss striker Nikola Zigic who was sent off against Kazakhstan.

His counterpart Luiz Felipe Scolari, likely to field the side that thumped Belgium, is also seeking a win that would keep Portugal in a good position to reach next year's finals in Austria and Switzerland.