England wary of Portugal despite Deco ban

BUHLERTAL, Germany, June 27 (Reuters) Rio Ferdinand and Owen Hargreaves have predicted a real battle for England in Saturday's World Cup quarter-final despite bans for Portugal's Deco and Costinha.

The Portuguese, who knocked England out of the quarter-finals of Euro 2004, will miss two of their key midfielders following red cards against the Netherlands.

But Ferdinand said his Manchester United team mate Cristiano Ronaldo was just one of several players who could shatter England's hopes in Gelsenkirchen.

''Cristiano's an obvious threat, as are Figo, Pauleta and Simao,'' the central defender told a news conference today.

''They've got many players who are a threat. Cristiano, as I know from United, is a fantastic player.

''He'll grow into one of the best players in the world -- if not by the end of this tournament. He's got great ability.'' Ferdinand, who backed England fullback Ashley Cole in any duel with Ronaldo, denied England could benefit from the absentees.

''From Portugal's point of view, Deco and Costinha are very important players,'' he said.

''Deco's a fantastic footballer whose great ability is unlocking defences with his passing skills and his shooting.

''But players who come in will be just as good and effective, and we've got to be able to try and combat that.'' Hargreaves echoed that view, saying: ''They're missing two very good players but I'm sure they'll have some great players to step in and try and do a job for them.'' England head into the game after a three wins and a draw -- but also a fair amount of criticism for their lacklustre performances so far.

Ferdinand dismissed the critics, though he agreed England needed to up their game on Saturday.

''People are harping on about performances but if we win every game 1-0 and don't play particularly well that won't be remembered,'' he said. ''Our name will be on the trophy.

''In an ideal world we'd love to be playing fantastic football and winning every game 3-0 or 4-0. But football's not like that.

''At the moment, we're not playing fantastic football but we're getting the results -- and we're pleased with that.'' As for Saturday, he added: ''Portugal are a very good team...they've got experienced players all over the park. So we're going to have to play better.'' Reuters HS VP0023