PORTUGAL hooker Joao Correia admitted his side's involvement in the World Cup will only become a reality when they take the field against Scotland in St Etienne.
The Portuguese are making their first appearance on the global stage following their qualification play-off triumph over Uruguay.
Correia declared: "Along with my team-mates, I just don't believe we are in a World Cup. Until now, it is something we have only watched on TV.
"There is no professional rugby in our country and we never imagined we would be part of something as big as this.
"The reality of playing in a World Cup will only register when we look the Scotland players in the eye immediately before the kick-off."
Correia reckons a loss by 20 or 30 points to Frank Hadden's troops would be a victory of sorts. He stated: "We must be realistic. Scotland are one of the main teams - but if we play with our hearts a margin like that would be good.
"The game that every member of our squad wants to play in is the one against the All Blacks. They are our idols - they are superstars.
"We know we will be hammered, but it will still be the realisation of a dream to be sharing the turf with them. And the last time we faced Italy we lost 83-0, so we hope to improve on that. Romania are also very strong, however we can only do our best."
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