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By Rex Gowar
GENEVA, June 11 (Reuters) - Coach Luiz Felipe Scolari paid tribute to his Portugal team's second half improvement which propelled them to a 3-1 win over Czech Republic and an almost certain place in the Euro 2008 quarter-finals on Wednesday.
He said the key had been the players' fitness and their willingness to shrug off tough challenges from a physical Czech side and continue to play their best football.
"We have had two very good second halves in the tournament. The players have been running for the 90 minutes," Scolari told reporters after Portugal notched up six points as Group A leaders having beaten Turkey 2-0 last Saturday.
"Principally, we played football, we worked with the ball, that is or quality.
"The team played with fantastic physical vigour. When I have 15 to 18 days to work more like a club coach you can see the results," the Brazilian said.
Before the tournament started Scolari publicly thanked his physical training staff for their work in preparing the players, helping them overcome the rigours of a long club season.
Scolari also said the team had to adjust to the surprise inclusion by Czech coach Karel Brueckner of striker Milan Baros in place of the country's all-time top scorer Jan Koller.
"It caught us by surprise and it was a clever move by the Czech coach. I was expecting Koller to play. It complicated our plans because Baros did not play as a straight centre-forward, but roamed in midfield," Scolari said.
"We had a very hard time during the first half. I told (the team) they had to be more aggressive and impose themselves.
"I wanted Cristiano and Simao (Sabrosa) to work hard not only on the wings but also in midfield. They did exactly what I wanted them to do.
"We weren't bad in that first half, we did create chances but we were definitely better in the second half."
Scolari said he would only decide after Switzerland's match against Turkey later on Wednesday how he would prepare for Portugal's last match with the Swiss in Basel on Sunday given that he wants his team to win the group.
