MARIENFELD, Germany -- Portugal has the delicate skills to score the pretty goals. As they showed against the Dutch, the Portuguese can play rough, too.

The ugliest match of the tournament so far, Portugal's bruising 1-0 win Sunday over the Netherlands, brought little credit for either team. Give the Portuguese this, though: their resilience and determination during the bad-tempered affair served as a warning for quarterfinal opponent England that if things get nasty, Portugal is ready.

Sunday's game was perhaps the most brutal in World Cup history, with four red cards and 16 yellows -- both tournament records.

But Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari and his team were unabashed and unapologetic.

The uncompromising Brazilian, renowned for his combative style during his days as a central defender, praised his team for standing firm.

"My players have a will and a spirit I've never seen before," Scolari said. "That can overcome a lot of difficulties."

Cristiano Ronaldo was equally pragmatic.

"We won. That's what matters," he said.

The Portuguese, their fans a minority in the stands, clung to their lead while outnumbered on the field for brief stretches. After sweeping its games in the group stage, Sunday's match in Nuremberg was the toughest test yet of Portugal's nerve.

But the Portuguese were not unscathed. Two of Sunday's red cards went to two key starters, playmaker Deco and defensive midfielder Francisco Costinha, who will miss the England match.

And Ronaldo, who was knocked out of the game by a harsh tackle that left cleat marks on his thigh, didn't take part a light training session Monday. The team doctor rated his chances of playing Saturday at 80 percent.

The Manchester United winger is already talking, however, about meeting England.

"I know the England team very well. It'll be special because I've been playing there for three years now," Ronaldo said. "I just hope it's a good game and that we beat them."

With this quarterfinals berth, Portugal has already gone deeper in this tournament than it has in 40 years. The Portuguese media were quick to praise its never-say-die attitude, calling it the spirit of '66.

In that World Cup, Eusebio scored a hat trick and led Portugal's recovery against North Korea as it rallied from 3-0 down to win 5-3. In the semis, Portugal lost to England, which went on to win the championship while Portugal took third.

Saturday's quarterfinal match in Gelsenkirchen will bring Scolari up against the country that wanted him as its manager after the tournament. But Scolari, who led Brazil to the 2002 title and has now a record 11 straight wins in the World Cup, turned the offer down.

Portugal knocked England out of the 2004 European Championship in a close-run match that was decided on penalties. Scolari's Brazil also beat England four years ago.

But Scolari dismissed talk that he has England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson's number.

"There is no advantage of one coach in relation to another before a game," Scolari said. "I would like to have the ability and the quality of Eriksson. Just because I beat him once or twice doesn't mean I'm better than him."

As for Sunday's foul-fest, Luis Figo waved away talk of a shameful display that darkened the tournament and its mottos about fair play and friendship.

"We showed character and strength," the Portugal captain said. "We deserve credit."