Following a final pre-tournament training session, the Portuguese squad left for the airport in high spirits. Debutant manager, Sir Pissalot, looked a happy man, too, judging by the width of the smile on his face. “I have put my girls through their paces and they did not disappoint”, the manager said. “My girls are in terrific shape and they can’t wait to show the watching world what they’ve got”, he added.
The ever-eager manager had been keen to take a hands-on approach to the girls’ rigorous training sessions. “I have joined in all of the sessions and, although I found that my ball control is not what it used to be, the stunners ensured that I had no trouble with keepy-uppy”, he said.
“I am very happy with my final squad”, the manager added, “but there were some difficult decisions to be made when trimming it down from 27 to the final 23”. “It’s a real sickener for the four unlucky girls who failed to make the cut. During the final selection process they had bent over backwards to impress, and I thank them for taking it so well”, he said.
As the team bus leaves the training camp for the airport, the unlucky four make one last attempt to catch the manager’s eye:
