Pinto: Draw not bad for Portugal

Former Portugal star Joao Pinto believes a draw against Germany would be a good start to their Euro 2012 campaign.

Paulo Bento’s men face a tough task getting out of Group B, which also includes the 2010 runners up the Netherlands and Germany, who made the semi-finals of that competition.

Therefore Pinto suggested that although winning Saturday’s game would be ideal, a draw would still leave the side with a good chance of advancing to the quarter-finals.

“The best result is always the victory, but a draw would leave everything open,” he told Abola.

“You can only say that a draw was a good result after the game, but a draw with Germany is never a bad thing.”

The 40-year-old said players would be feeling the nerves now that the action in Poland and Ukraine is underway.

“The players are well, though a bit anxious. Anxiety is natural and increases now that the Euros have begun,” he said.