A record-breaking defeat to Germany on matchday two leaves Portugal with work to do against France in a repeat of the previous European Championship final.
Portugal became the first defending champions to concede four goals at the Euros and now need at least a point to reach the last 16.
Top spot in Group F could still be theirs if they beat France, although Portugal's Euro 2016 final triumph was their only win against Les Bleus in 13 attempts.
Reflecting on the Germany match ahead of this tough test, coach Fernando Santos said: "We all felt disappointed on our way back.
"Everyone feels a sense of responsibility, and the following day the players reacted well.
"They are experienced players and appreciate that sometimes you don't win. There are times when even the top teams don't deal well with defeat."
France have never previously played Portugal before the semi-final stage of a major tournament, but their meetings tend to be low scoring. The previous four have provided only three goals.
Although Didier Deschamps' men are already through as at least one of the four best third-placed sides, the coach insists they do not lack motivation.
"To be honest, in the situation where we are now, if we had six points I would have the same thoughts because a negative result would have the same impact," he said.
"We have the insurance of being qualified already, that gives us some kind of tranquillity but it won't change our playing style.
"Of course we owe it to ourselves and the French people to deliver the best possible result."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Portugal – Cristiano Ronaldo
When is Ronaldo not Portugal's player to watch? He has history in his sights, too, having tied Miroslav Klose as the leading scorer at Euros and World Cups combined (19 goals) and moved within three of Ali Daei's world-record 109-goal tally last time out. The Juventus superstar has never scored against France, though, his six goalless appearances his worst record in international football.
France – Antoine Griezmann
Griezmann was the subject of praise from Santos ahead of this match and is himself only three goals adrift of a benchmark for France. He has 11 goals at major international tournaments, with Michel Platini's 14 leading the way. He has Thierry Henry (12) and Just Fontaine (13) to leapfrog before reaching that record, though.
KEY OPTA FACTS
– This is the fifth match between Portugal and France at a major tournament, but it is the first time they have met in the group stages; all four previous encounters took place in the semis (Euro 1984, Euro 2000, World Cup 2006) or final (Euro 2016). France won the first three while Portugal came out victors in the Euro 2016 showpiece match.
– Following their 1-1 draw with Hungary on MD2, France have avoided defeat in more matches when trailing at half-time than any other team in European Championship history (six – W4 D2).
– France are unbeaten in each of their past 11 group stage games at major international tournaments (World Cup and Euros), winning seven and drawing four. However, each of their past three MD3 group games in these tournaments have ended level (D3).
– Last time out versus Germany (4-2), Portugal became the first reigning champions in European Championship history to concede four goals in a single match in the competition. Indeed, Portugal had never conceded four goals in a single European Championship match before facing Germany on MD2.
– Portugal have lost two of their past three matches at major tournaments (World Cup and Euros), one more than they had lost in the previous 17 such games combined (W8 D8 L1). They last lost consecutive such matches within a single tournament at Euro 2008.
Denmark sharpen up for Euro 2024 in style with convincing win over Norway
Erling Haaland got on the scoresheet but Norway lost 3-1 to Denmark as the latter concluded their Euro 2024 preparations in style.
Pierre-Emile Hojberg opened the scoring for the hosts in Brondby on Saturday, drilling home with a powerful right-footed effort in the 12th minute.
Defender Jannik Vestergaard added a second nine minutes later as he headed home Andreas Skov Olsen's teasing corner kick.
Manchester City star Haaland thought he had halved the deficit in the 65th minute only to see his effort ruled out after a VAR review, but he did score seven minutes later, finishing from Martin Odegaard's intricate pick out.
Yet the Danes would give their supporters the perfect send-off as they head to Germany, with Youseff Poulsen restoring their two-goal advantage in stoppage time.
Elsewhere, Denmark's Group C opponents Serbia also managed an impressive victory ahead of their meeting on June 25, securing a comfortable 3-0 win over Sweden in Stockholm.
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic gave the Eagles an early advantage at the Friends Arena, with captain Aleksandr Mitrovic scoring his 58th international goal on the hour-mark. Dusan Tadic rounded off the scoring 10 minutes later with a fine finish beyond Robin Olsen.
Serbia will face England, who lost to Iceland on Friday, in their opening match at Euro 2024.
Hungary also won by the same scoreline in Debrecen as a rampant 11-minute flurry was enough to secure a comfortable victory.
Barnabas Varga teed up Roland Sallai for the opening goal of the game, and then scored twice in quick succession, first finishing from close range before Sallai turned provider for his team-mate to conclude the contest.
Switzerland and Austria played out a 1-1 draw at the Kybunpark as Christoph Baumgartner saw his fifth-minute strike cancelled out by defender Silvan Widmer.
Belgium 3-0 Luxembourg: Lukaku at the double as Red Devils warm up for Euro 2024
Belgium made light work of minnows Luxembourg as Domenico Tedesco's side rounded off their Euro 2024 preparations with a 3-0 victory.
Romelu Lukaku was at the double at Stade Roi Baudouin, with Leandro Trossard also getting in on the act for the Red Devils.
Belgium dominated from the off, though Luxembourg held out until Lukaku converted from the penalty spot in the 42nd minute.
Lukaku made it 2-0 shortly after the restart, with the 31-year-old on hand to finish after fine work from Jeremy Doku.
Trossard added further gloss nine minutes from time, and Belgium will now turn their attention to Euro 2024.
They face Slovakia in their opening group match on June 17, with fixtures against Romania and Ukraine to follow.
Data Debrief: Total control
It really could have been much worse for Luxembourg, given Belgium accumulated 4.81 expected goals from 27 attempts.
In return, Luxembourg mustered just 0.01 xG (essentially, having just one per cent of scoring all match), managing only one shot.
Reggae Rovers through to quarterfinals at The Soccer Tournament in North Carolina
The Reggae Rovers soccer team is riding high on a win over the English Professional side, Wrexham Red Dragons, 5-1 and will face off against the defending champions Newton Pride FC, in the quarterfinal round of The Soccer Tournament this evening in Cary North Carolina USA.
The TST kicked off on June 3 and is a World Cup Style seven-a-side tournament consisting of group play and single elimination knockout rounds in a quest for $1Million.
48 men's teams and 8 women's teams are competing in this annual event which will run until June 11.
The Reggae Rovers are the rhythm of football with a team of players from all over the Caribbean including Demario Philips of the Jamaica National Team and Owayne Gordon Montego Bay FC.
Supreme Ventures, Fintech and Ria are major sponsors of the Reggae Rovers.
Gary Peart, Chairman of Supreme Ventures who is on hand for the match, says the Reggae Rovers have made Jamaica very proud.
"We are extremely proud of the achievements of the Reggae Rovers they certainly embody the spirit of the Caribbean and represent us well in unity, skill and resilience. The team are true ambassadors," Peart said.
Pat McAfee's CONCAFA SC lost 4-1 in the opening round of The Soccer Tournament to Reggae Rovers on 5 June 2024. The match was a part of the TST, Group B.
Currently, Reggae Rovers rank 1st.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
