Carlos Queiroz appears to be on a hiding to nothing when Portugal host China in an international friendly in Lisbon.

Considering Portugal's tough qualification campaign for the World Cup in South Africa, coach Queiroz was under pressure to secure a more demanding game as part of his preparation schedule, yet has chosen a nation which has only ever reached on World Cup in their history.

Following this game, Portugal will face Cape Verde!

So Queiroz is clearly treating this brace of games as the perfect chance to make changes, blood some new talent and improve confidence as the finals draw ever nearer.

Yet comfortable wins in both games will be expected and, should they transpire, earn Portugal little praise for a demanding public which expects their nation to challenge for the trophy in South Africa.

China might be similar to North Korea, who Portugal face in the group stages, yet this game won't be their biggest challenge, which could come from the Ivory Coast and there have been calls for Queiroz to arrange a game against a side which resembled them instead, like Cameroon or Nigeria.

Queiroz remains his own man, however and knows a defeat would be blamed on his unfamiliar team and tactics, not himself.

Cristiano Ronaldo, viewed by most as the best player in the world at present, is not expected to start. Ruben Micael and Fabio Coentrao, who have impressed for FC Porto this season, could be handed rare starts in a game of particular importance to those far from guaranteed a place in Queiroz's final squad.

Pedro Mendes needs to show he has overcome his recent injury, while Nuno Gomes, the veteran Benfica star, could be handed one last chance to stake his claim.

The burning issue for Queiroz to deal with remains who will replace Pepe as the holding midfield player. Real Madrid star Pepe has been all-but ruled out of the World Cup following a serious knee injury and it seems former Portsmouth player Mendes is the favourite to fill the void.

Dominating against a weak opposition like China might boost Mendes's chances, but will it really prove to Queiroz that he is capable of doing it when it really matters? He could end up being left with more questions than answers if he is not careful.