Portugal v EnglandWin or lose against England tonight, "Big Phil" has already made his point. Luiz Felipe Scolari, Portugal's Brazilian coach, has already defied his critics at these championships, proving for the second time in two years that when it comes to organising a team for tournament finals, he knows a thing or two.

Three years ago, Big Phil was ridiculed by the Brazilian press for daring to suggest that his side, which had struggled throughout the South American qualifiers, would reach the last four of the 2002 World Cup finals. History, of course, proved Scolari more than right.

Over the last 18 months, Scolari has had his fair share of Portuguese critics. Like the Brazilian media before them, the home critics have questioned his defensive tactics, his side's poor results in friendlies and, of course, that opening game loss here to Greece.

There are coaches who, faced with a setback, stubbornly insist on sticking with what they perceive to be the strongest side. Scolari, here, has shown great flexibility, and has not been afraid to operate a "mini-revolution" by way of reaction to that opening loss.

For the next match with Russia, out went national icon Rui Costa, team captain Fernando Couto and both full backs, Paulo Ferreira and Rui Jorge.

In came the in-form quartet of Deco, Miguel, Ricardo Carvalho and Nuno Valente, three of whom just happen to play for reigning European club champions, Porto.

Against Spain, Scolari not only opted to start the game with Manchester United's exciting winger Ronaldo, but he also lost no time in substituting the clearly out of form Pauleta, replacing him at half-time with subsequent match-winner Nuno Gomes.

It could be argued that Portugal have been less than impressive thus far. Certainly, they struggled for long periods when already 1-0 up against an unconvincing Russia, while they made hard work of defeating a disappointing Spain.

Yet, it cannot be doubted that Scolari has done well to come back from an opening match loss to produce a Portuguese team of purpose, commitment and organisation.

To some extent, this is no surprise. Scolari is a coach who works on his players' mental preparation just as much as he works on tactics and fitness. If there is a definite sense of determination about this Portuguese side, it clearly owes much to the passionate support of the Portuguese people, but it also owes something to Scolari.

Remember, the Brazilian took over Portugal in the wake of a disastrous 2002 World Cup where the Portuguese limped out in the first round, losing 3-2 to the US and 1-0 to hosts South Korea (they also registered a 4-0 win over Poland).

In a country where fatalism sometimes spills into an inferiority complex, Portugal's finest returned from Asia with their morale down around their golden generation boots: "Portugal came back from the World Cup in a very depressed state of mind," Scolari said recently, adding: "My priority has been to lift that mood, and this is where our psychology has been important. You have to say the right things at the right time and in the right way. I have wonderful players and I want them to be able to play wonderful football. They could not do that in the state they were in."

So then, can he work the magic again tonight? Certainly, he knows all he needs to know about England, having eliminated them with Brazil at the World Cup. Speaking yesterday, Scolari admitted that this is probably a better English side than the one he faced two years ago, telling reporters: "I think the England team has evolved, they're much better than at the World Cup. Eriksson has continued his work very well, their system is very interesting and if we don't have total concentration, we run a serious risk.

"England are no longer a team who depend on high crosses into the penalty area, although they still use that sometimes. Now they keep the ball on the ground and move it around."

Scolari believes that for Portugal to win tonight, they will have to play "not well but very well".

For Portugal to achieve that, in a context where they will be burdened by the weight of unprecedented national expectations, the Portuguese side will have to have the right mental approach. Scolari has all the necessary skills and experience to get his men into that winning mental approach.

He believes this could be a great game. Yet, he is also the coach who, in most non-Brazilian fashion, has often said that he prefers to play badly and win, rather than play well and lose.

In that context, his talk yesterday of "tactical changes" aimed at strengthening his defence may be for real. Stand by for a great occasion, but not necessarily a great game. Stand by for a new Portuguese icon, Luis Felipe Scolari.