Poland vs Portugal Preview and Prediction Euro 2016

Cristiano Ronaldo has been handed added incentive ahead of Portugal's quarter-final clash with Poland following Lionel Messi's decision to retire from international football.

The Real Madrid forward will know adding a major piece of international silverware his trophy cabinet could tip the ongoing battle to be

crowned the world's best in his favour.

But Portugal are not all about Ronaldo's flamboyance. A gritty display against Croatia helped them get this far and they have had to grind out results, rather than sweep opponents aside, to progress.

Poland represent a stern test and have a game changer of their own in the form of Robert Lewandowski.

Xherdan Shaqiri's outrageous overhead kick is the only goal Poland have conceded this summer and they will certainly fancy their chances of reaching the last four.

Date, time and venue

Poland will face Portugal at Stade Velodorme in Marseille on Thursday, June 30. Kick-off is at 20:00 BST.
When and where to watch

The match will be broadcast live on ITV1, with coverage from 19:15 BST.

Alternatively, you can follow the match as it happens on Standard Sport's live blog.
Team news and probable line-ups

Lukasz Fabianski is set to continue in goal with Wojciech Szczesny still struggling with a thigh injury.

Arkadiusz Milik should already have the Golden Boot sewn up, given how many chances he has missed, and will need to be more clinical up front.

So does Robert Lewndowski, who is yet to get going in France.

But the fact Poland have made it this far without their key man firing on all cylinders can also be seen as a positive.

Poland possible XI: Fabianski, Piszczek, Glik, Pazdan, Jedrzejczyk, Blaszczykowski, Krychowiak, Maczynski, Grosicki, Milik, Lewandowski.

Portugal will have had plenty of time to recover from an energy-sapping extra time victory over Croatia.

Match winner Ricardo Quaresma will be hopeful he has done enough to secure a starting berth after impressing off the bench in the last round.

So too will Renato Sanches, who added much needed impetus - and speed - to Portugal's midfield.

Vieirinha is also pushing to be recalled at right back as Portugal attempt to deal with the significant threat Poland possess on both flanks.

Portugal possible XI: Rui Patricio, Soares, Pepe, Fonte, Guerreiro, Joao Mario,, Adrien Silva, Carvalho, Renato Sanches, Nani, Ronaldo.

Poland coach Adam Nawalka: "We don't have a single problem with the fact that Robert Lewandowski hasn't scored so far.

"He's doing a great job for our side. We are a team that understands each other very well and knows that what's good for the team is the most important thing."

Portugal coach Fernando Santos: “Sometimes you have to be pragmatic. It’d be nice to play pretty but that’s not always how you win tournaments.

“We were up against an amazing team [Croatia] and this was always going to be tight and strong.

“It was a very tactical match. At times we could have passed the ball faster but Croatia influenced that."