Portugal will play a friendly match against the Republic of Ireland in Aveiro on Tuesday night to wrap off their preparations for the European Championship this summer.
On June 18, Roberto Martinez's team will play the Czech Republic in the opening match of their Euro 2024 campaign. The visitors will return to competitive play at the beginning of September in the UEFA Nations League.
Martinez's squad will now be looking to rebound in their penultimate game before Euro 2024 after Portugal fell for the second time in three games on Saturday night, falling to Croatia 2-1 in their friendly match in Oeiras.
After Luka Modric had taken the lead with a penalty kick, the 2016 European Champions tied the match through Diogo Jota, but Ante Budimir won it for the visitors in the 56th minute.
Portugal will now be hoping to enter the European Championship on the strength of a successful outcome after losing 2-0 to Slovenia at the end of March and losing two of their most recent friendly.
It will be surprising if Martinez's team is unable to make it through to the competition's knockout phase. They will play their opening Group F encounter against the Czech Republic on June 18 and their final two group matches against Turkey and Georgia.
Portugal made it to the quarterfinals of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, although they were eliminated in the round of 16 in Euro 2020, despite having won Euro 2016.
The Republic of Ireland had a challenging season, finishing fourth in their qualification group with just six points from eight games. As a result, they will not be competing at the European Championship this summer.
For this glamorous friendly with Portugal, John O'Shea, the temporary manager of the national team, will once again be in command. O'Shea is a former Manchester United defender.
In reality, the Republic of Ireland has only advanced to the finals of three European Championships; they last participated in the tournament eight years ago, reaching the round of 16 in France.
The visitors will be coming off a 2-1 victory over Hungary in a friendly on June 4—which turned out to be their first victory in five games—when they take on England in the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League at the beginning of September.
The Republic of Ireland had faced Portugal in a World Cup qualifier back in November 2021, and although they had lost eight of their previous fifteen meetings, the match ended in a goalless draw that split the points.
