Portugal, England's first Euro 2000 opponents, were rocked yesterday by the news that forward Joao Pinto has been fired by his club Benfica.

The sacking of the 28-year- old, his country's nine-goal top scorer during the qualifying campaign but deemed so destructive by his club that they are prepared to write off a possible £5million transfer fee just to get rid of him, has overshadowed preparations for Monday's match in Eindhoven.

But while Benfica fans protested out-side the Stadium of Light, the Portuguese propaganda machine warned England that they will suffer the backlash as Pinto treats Euro 2000 as a shop window for his talents.

The official reason given by Benfica president Joao Vale e Azevado for Pinto's dismissal is that he is not worth his £25,000-a-week contract.

But, amid stories of internal strife, coach Juup Heynckes reportedly told the board: 'Either he goes or I go.' Indeed, those inside his club, the men who had to deal with Pinto in the dressing-room, are not mourning his departure.

Even though he seemed to have matured into a world-class player, critics say his removal was the only way to achieve peace inside Benfica. In recent years a culture of cliques has taken over the squad, with Pinto reputedly the divisive factor.

Two Brazilian players and one coach have left complaining of xenophobia, alleging that the homegrown players - led by local hero Pinto - had ostracised foreign signings.

Not surprisingly, Pinto himself sees it differently and put the blame firmly on the shoulders of the coach.

'Heynckes doesn't like Portuguese players and he wanted me to play badly,' he claimed yesterday.

The Benfica fans were even more forthright. They daubed the walls of the ground with outraged messages, declaring 'Send Heynckes back to Germany' and 'We want our captain back'.

Even Pinto's most severe critics are quick to point out that, removed from the small pond of Benfica and thrown in among the sharks of the national team, the big fish is happy to swim with the school.

When in the company of stars like Luis Figo, Rui Costa and Sa Pinto, Joao Pinto has, so far, known better than to upset the balance with any prima donna antics.

When he pulls on the national jersey, his on-field understanding with Figo and Sa Pinto - another fiery character who flattened coach Artur Jorge with a punch back in 1997 - gives Portugal a much-needed cutting edge.

He beats defenders for fun and his finishing has never been in doubt, even though his brief spell out of Portuguese football, with Atletico Madrid, was a flop.

England, however, will clearly be hoping that he is one player at Euro 2000 who takes his club form, particularly off the field, on to the international stage without missing a beat.

While the Portuguese Press has devoted dozens of pages to the shock development, the national team remain confident of reaching at least the quarter-finals. There was a strong belief that Pinto's sacking would serve merely to spur him on.

Portugal legend Eusebio said: 'I love him and I'm so sad that this has happened. But Joao Pinto is a man at his best when he is under pressure. He responds when he has something to prove.'

Rui Costa, the Fiorentina player who will figure alongside Pinto in an attacking midfield trio, also believes that his team-mate will turn private turmoil and insecurity to his advantage in Holland and Belgium.

'This is one of the big disasters of Benfica but the player is going to recover from that,' said Rui Costa. 'I'm sure he will have a great European Championship. I think that in this competition, he will give at least 10 per cent more than he would have before.'

Pinto da Costa, president of Porto and one of the country's most respected football figures, said: 'This will affect him positively for the European Championships. He gets better when the situation is at its worst.'

Pinto himself said: 'I am unemployed and that is very sad. But now I am just thinking about playing well for Portugal in the European Championship.'

That would certainly do him no harm in his quest to find a new club. There have been reports of interest from Portuguese champions Sporting Lisbon and their French counterparts Monaco.

Over the years, he has tempted Manchester United and Newcastle, and offers from the Premiership cannot be discounted although the play-er's agent, Jose Veiga, confirmed last night that he has yet to receive any definite bids.

Assistant coach Rui Cacador repeated the Portuguese mantra that they are not worried about England, declaring: 'We must be considered at least as strong favourites as the English. I have no concerns about their ability.

'The team which makes the most defensive errors will be punished and, after watching England against Malta, that makes me confident. England made many mistakes in defence and, throughout the team, they did not impress me.

'They have a lot of good players in attack, men like David Beckham, Alan Shearer, Michael Owen and Steve McManaman. But Portugal must go into this game thinking of victory.'