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Hilly streets and a mountainous task for Hearts in Lisbon as Claudio Braga aims to plunder Portugal Striker wants to make an impact on his return home Climb the cobbled streets of Lisbon’s Alfama old town and you feel the steep gradient overlooking the city’s spectacular waterfront. The famous No.28 tram rattles past as tourists mosey up towards the Castelo de Sao Jorge. The hill gets steeper and the hike more difficult in temperatures nearing 30 degrees. In some ways, it could be a metaphor for the task facing Hearts in the hilly Portuguese capital. Playing Benfica is a mountainous assignment for any Scottish club, particularly one in a state of transition. Hearts arrived in Lisbon on Wednesday afternoon and will be backed by 1,300 supporters. Some of them will doubtless have trudged up the old town pavements and therefore understand the effort required. Their team will require even more endeavour across in the Benfica district on Thursday night. The Estadio da Luz will be throbbing with more than 50,000 Benfiquistas for the Europa League third qualifying round first leg. Marco Silva’s side are a hardened and experienced European outfit who are understandably overwhelming favourites to beat Hearts. Silva’s counterpart, Wouter Vrancken, is still implementing a new style of play just weeks into the job with nearly a full team of new players signed during the summer. Nobody realistically expects Hearts to get anything from this game, but the Tynecastle players are determined they can do the unthinkable. They sounded in good spirits training inside Benfica’s world-famous home on Wednesday evening. After all, there is nothing to lose when you are the unfancied away team here. Fans are also in a good mood, with some using Lisbon’s Barrio Alto area as a beer base. They will expect very little when it comes to the actual game. Publicly, Hearts players are more optimistic. “Listen, I understand why you say that and why most people, or everybody, thinks like that,” said Claudio Braga, Hearts’ Portuguese striker. “But I've learned that in football nothing is impossible. Like I told you, nobody comes here to lose a we're not a club that wants to do that. The mentality within the group is very strong. We need to make fewer mistakes because that's been the biggest difference in our previous games. Of course, we know Benfica are a big team and stronger on paper, but nothing is impossible in football and we're going to try to hurt them.” Braga hails from the Porto region and looks comfortable preparing to play in his homeland. He, too, has worked hard to climb the steep hill into professional football since leaving Vila Mea at the age of 22. This is his first visit to the Estadio da Luz. “There's nothing like being home. I think it's like that for everybody,” said Braga. “There's nothing like the feeling of being home, especially in the circumstances we're in - playing Europa League football against a big club. It's amazing. “Sometimes it's a bit strange to look back and realise that so little time has passed and that so much has changed. At the time when I left Portugal, I was in the fourth division, where there is a lot of quality, but I was leaving for a different opportunity and taking a risk. To get here after so much effort, so many things and so many moves throughout the whole process is a very special feeling. I feel it's something that I can still achieve much more from, but it's a feeling that has stayed with me for a long time because it has allowed me to reach a stage that I dreamed about many times. It's difficult to think that I've already achieved so much.” Braga retains a fairly low profile in his homeland having only played lower-division football. It is something he hopes to change this week. “To score would be amazing, of course. I'm a striker, so scoring in any game would be amazing,” he smiled. “Against a Portuguese team in the Europa League would definitely have a different flavour. As a young lad growing up in Portugal, we all know how big a club Benfica is, not only in Portugal but also abroad. “Just the fact that I'm playing against them on this stage, in European competition, is something special. It was one of my dreams to play in the Champions League, the Europa League and competitions like this. It's just amazing, to be honest, because sometimes it's really hard to believe that I've reached this part of my life. I know what I have to do and I'll try to do it. That's what I always want.” Benfica’s defence will change after Antonio Silva was sold to Bournemouth in a £26m transfer. “Whoever comes in will probably perform at the same level because Benfica have so many quality players,” Braga pointed out. “As for Benfica, I think their biggest strength is the team itself. Of course there are individual players. For example, [Vangelis] Pavlidis is someone you naturally look at as a player with great quality who can create a lot of problems for Hearts. “Overall, I believe the team is stronger than any one individual. Looking at what we've analysed, and knowing Benfica as someone from Portugal, they're a very strong team. There isn't just one player I can single out because that wouldn't be fair on the others.” Braga does not need to have visited the Estadio da Luz to know the place will be bouncing. “They're a big club with very good supporters, so I'm sure it'll be crazy. Hopefully we can silence them at times and that'll be good for Hearts. I expect a very good atmosphere and hopefully a full stadium because that's where we want to play.”