 Eriksson has lost out to Scolari on the last two occasions |
England will once again meet Luiz Felipe Scolari when they meet Portugal in the World Cup quarter-final. Sides managed by Scolari have knocked England out of the last two major tournaments - Brazil in the 2002 World Cup, and Portugal at Euro 2004.
The man known as 'Big Phil' was also approached to take over from current England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson before the FA eventually chose Steve McClaren.
Portugal beat Holland 1-0 to set up Saturday's match in Gelsenkirchen.
Scolari will now have met England at the quarter-final stage in each of the last three major tournaments.
Two years ago at Euro 2004 the Portugal team managed by Scolari drew 1-1 after 90 minutes with Sven-Goran Eriksson's England, then 2-2 after 120 minutes, before eventually winning on penalties.
At the last World Cup, in 2002, Scolari was coach of the Brazilian team that knocked England out at the quarter-final stage - Ronaldinho's famous long-range free-kick eluding David Seaman for the winner in a 2-1 win.
This time around, the match-up with Scolari has extra spice after the Brazilian turned down the chance to succeed Eriksson as England coach in April.
If they make it to the semi-finals, England's last-four tie would be on Wednesday, 5 July in Munich (2000 BST). That will be against Brazil, Spain, Ghana or France.
The World Cup final takes place on Sunday, 9 July in Berlin, kick-off 1900 BST.
England will feel that their chances of getting past this quarter-final have been improved by the stormy nature of Portugal's second round win over Holland on Sunday.
That game broke the World Cup record for red cards in one match - four - and equalled the record for yellow cards, with 16.
Two of those red cards went to Portugal players - which means midfielders Deco and Costinha will not play against England.
"They are vital players for us but we will have others that can fill in for them, even if England is a tough opponent," Scolari said.
Captain Luis Figo, who was booked, could yet be ruled out if Fifa chooses to increase his punishment for being caught on camera headbutting Mark van Bommel.
Cristiano Ronaldo may be a doubt for the game, after he was forced out of the Holland match through injury, while five Portugal players including Figo will be on a yellow card should they play against England.
That means one more caution against Eriksson's team would rule them out of any semi-final tie.
E-mail this to a friend 
Printable version 