Luiz Felipe Scolari's men went into their final Group A encounter, at home to Finland, still needing a point to qualify.

They achieved it courtesy of a goalless draw in Oporto but Portuguese hearts were in mouths when a late Finland rally - the visitors required a win to advance - prompted a nervy sliced clearance from Bruno Alves which flashed narrowly past his own post.

Had it gone in, the hosts would have had little time to react and their dreams of European glory would have ended before they had barely begun.

Finland were also the opposition in the opening round of fixtures, and again proved a tough obstacle for the Portuguese.

The hosts took the lead in Helsinki through Jonatan Johansson but Portugal equalised three minutes before half-time when Nuno Gomes converted Deco's pass.

Finland regained the initiative after 53 minutes when Ricardo Costa was sent off but Scolari's side held on to get off to a solid, if unspectacular, start.

Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo failed to get on the scoresheet against the Finns but he found his range when Azerbaijan visited Oporto in October 2006.

Ronaldo scored twice, either side of a Ricardo Carvalho effort, as his side eased to a 3-0 win.

Four points from two games seemed to indicate Portugal were going to live up to their billing as pool favourites but that all changed after a 2-1 defeat in Poland.

Two early goals from Ebi Smolarek proved too much for the visitors to overcome although they did pull one back in injury time through Gomes.

Scolari demanded a reaction and he got it as Kazakhstan were swept aside 3-0 in Coimbra.

Spectacular early strikes from Simao Sabrosa and Ronaldo - the latter a trademark solo run and finish - effectively settled the contest with Simao adding gloss with a late third.

Portugal's performance level moved up a gear in March 2007 with a 4-0 hammering of Belgium.

First-half domination finally resulted in goals after the break as the Belgians were overrun.

Gomes broke the deadlock before a double from Ronaldo and a goal from Porto winger Ricardo Quaresma completed the rout.

The momentum stalled slightly, however, four days later with a 1-1 draw in Serbia.

A stunning 35-yard lob from Tiago gave Portugal a fifth-minute lead but the hosts dragged themselves level when Bosko Jankovic netted eight minutes before the break.

Portugal went to Belgium five points behind group leaders Poland although they did have a game in hand.

A win in Brussels was vital and it duly arrived courtesy of Helder Postiga's long-range strike midway through the second half.

The visitors, without Ronaldo, went ahead when his Manchester United team-mate Nani powered in a low drive but Marouane Fellaini headed home an equaliser after 55 minutes.

A trip to Armenia seemed likely to result in another three-point haul but Portugal stumbled, managing just a 1-1 draw.

Robert Arzumanyan gave the hosts a shock lead but Ronaldo rescued the visitors with another wonderful goal.

A home clash with Poland represented a great chance for Portugal to stake a claim for top spot but they were denied by a last-gasp equaliser from Jacek Krzynowek.

Mariusz Lewandowski put Poland ahead just before half-time only for goals from Maniche and Ronaldo to turn the game in the home side's favour.

But Krzynowek had the final say to leave Portugal third in the section, two points adrift of second-placed Finland and four behind Poland.

Further frustration followed when another late goal prevented Portugal from picking up a much-needed win at home to Serbia.

Simao put the hosts ahead in Lisbon but Branislav Ivanovic equalised with two minutes to go.

The drama continued after the final whistle when Scolari became embroiled in a scuffle with Serbia defender Ivica Dragutinovic, an act for which he received a four-match ban which was later reduced to two on appeal.

After three draws, Portugal returned to winning ways in Azerbaijan - goals from Alves and Hugo Almeida giving them a 2-0 win although the hosts' cause was not helped by the 29th-minute dismissal of Aslan Kerimov for elbowing Ronaldo.

A 2-1 win in Kazakhstan followed - moving Portugal to within a point of leaders Poland.

Ariza Makukula and Ronaldo scored in the last 10 minutes with Dmitriy Byakov grabbing a late consolation.

It was an unconvincing performance and another followed as a solitary goal from Almeida saw them squeeze past Armenia in Leiria.

That result saw them go into the final game against Finland in a strong position but even then they nearly threw it away.