CHRIS HATHERALL IN SAINT-ETIENNE: Poland are through to the quarter-finals of a European Championship for the first time in their history after winning on penalties against Switzerland.

Fernando Santos took his Portugal side's practice session at the Centre National de Rugby in Marcoussis on Monday. The training base was a happy one after their last-16 win over Croatia.

After 17 days and 44 matches, Euro 2016 has now reached crunch time with eight teams left to battle it out for glory in France as the tournament reaches the finishing straight.

Despite Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo so far failing to produce a string of consistent displays, Portugal have recovered from a slow start to earn a place in the quarter-finals.

With seven games of the tournament remaining, kicking off with Poland's quarter-final clash against Portugal on Thursday night, three players sit top of the standings with three goals each.

The Bayern Munich forward is the most fouled player at Euro 2016 and Nawalka thinks his star striker has been marked too tightly in France.

The Portugal squad travelled to Marseille the day before the contest, with a number of the squad's senior players posing for a photograph while en route to the southern French city.

Lewandowski hasn't lit up Euro 2016 and will need to regain his form from qualifying if Poland are to have any chance of getting past Portugal on Thursday.

Cristiano Ronaldo will not be the only superstar on show on Thursday night in Marseille. But Poland's manager, players and supporters are relying on Robert Lewandowski finding his shooting boots.

Portugal will need Cristiano Ronaldo firing on all cylinders on Thursday night if they are to overcome a stubborn Polish side in Marseille.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal are through to the semi-finals of Euro 2016 despite failing to win a game in normal time in the tournament so far.

IAN LADYMAN AT STADE VELODROME: Cristiano Ronaldo has been here before and made the wrong call. Portugal exited Euro 2012 on penalties to Spain without their great talisman taking a kick.

Portugal have become the first team in modern European Championship finals history to reach the semi-finals of without winning a single game in normal time, having beaten Poland.

Poland’s star player Robert Lewandowski was recovering on Friday from a ‘brutal’ end to his side’s run at Euro 2016. The striker's goal was not enough to see his side overcome Portugal.

French side AS Monaco have signed Polish defender Kamil Glik on a four-year deal from Italian side Torino, the clubs confirmed on Monday.

Sportsmail revealed Leicester's bid at the weekend and the Premier League champions have now settled on a fee with Cracovia for an initial £5.4million, rising to £7.4m based on performance.

Poland's World Cup qualifier with Romania had to be suspended when a firecracker exploded at the feet of striker Robert Lewandowski. The Bayern Munich man needed medical attention.

Top scorer Fernando Llorente has boosted Swansea by being declared fit to face Bournemouth as Paul Clement insists there is no need to panic after the setback against Hull.

England booked their place in the semi-finals of the Under 21 European Championship by beating Poland in their last Group A game. Relive the action as it happened here with Tom Farmery.

Goals from Eric Dier and Marcus Rashford saw England come from behind to defeat Slovakia 2-1 to take a giant step towards qualifying for the World Cup next summer.

The 32 teams contesting next summer's World Cup in Russia have now been decided with Peru becoming the final team to earn a place after their victory over New Zealand on Wednesday night.

The countdown to the 2018 World Cup ramps up significantly on Friday when the draw for next summer's tournament in Russia takes place.  Sportsmail previews how it will all happen.

Spain are paired in the same group as Portugal for the World Cup next summer, while Russia host Saudi Arabia in the tournament's opening game as England are handed favourable draw.

The World Cup is always an intense battle of the best national football teams in the world to see who comes out on top, but there is another contest going on - the battle of the kits.

The countdown to the FIFA World Cup 2018 is on after the draw for the finals in Russia — and here is your brilliant Mail on Sunday wallchart to get yourself ready for the tournament.

Get yourself ready for the World Cup with our brilliant sweepstake kit. It's a fun way for you and your friends to follow the tournament - and have someone to cheer on when England go out!

Bayern Munich striker appeared hard at work on Monday as Adam Nawalka's squad trained ahead the tournament. Poland have two friendlies still to play against Chile and Lithuania.

Whether you storm to glory or go out early, a World Cup strip can sometimes be the most memorable aspect of a team's tournament. Sportsmail ranks all the 2018 strips here.

Here is the full fixture list for the World Cup in Russia. We've split them up day by day and also by group to make it easy to follow and plan which games you will be watching.

There are 12 arenas hosting World Cup games with Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium kicking things off as well as bringing the show to and end with the final on July 15. Here's our guide to them all.

The 2018 World Cup is just days away, but for the first time in decades Australians won't be able to watch all the games live on free-to-air TV.

A number of notable matches are coming up on Tuesday, June 19 in the 2018 World Cup. Here's a look at the matches as well as how to watch them and what the current standings are.

Sportsmail's CHRIS SUTTON gives his verdict ahead of an action-packed day of World Cup football as he tips tournament hosts Russia to beat Egypt with or without star man Mo Salah.

The Google Doodle for Tuesday, June 19 2018 celebrates the World Cup 2018 teams from Groups A and H playing today, including Russia, Egypt, Colombia, Japan, Poland and Senegal.

Sportsmail provide you with everything you need to know for the World Cup 2018 clash between Poland vs Senegal including how to watch, kick-off time, squads and latest odds.

Idrissa Gueye's deflected shot put Senegal into the lead after a dull first-half before M'Baye Niang latched onto a Grzegorz Krychowiak error to double his side's advantage.

Sportsmail provide you with everything you need to know for the World Cup 2018 clash Poland vs Colombia including how to watch, kick-off time, squads, stats and latest odds.

Poland were sent crashing out of the World Cup as Colombia kept their dream alive with a resounding victory in Kazan on Sunday night. Relive the action with Sportsmail's JAMES DUTTON.

Sportsmail provide you with everything you need to know for the World Cup 2018 clash Japan vs Poland including how to watch, kick-off time, squads, stats and latest odds.

Find out who made the cut for every team taking part in Russia. We've listed the 23-man squads for each of the 32 nations going for glory at the greatest tournament on the planet.

They both play on Thursday, against Japan and Tunisia respectively, and if they manage to score then it will be the first time in the World Cup's history that all teams have scored twice.

Surprise Group H leaders Japan know that a draw will be enough to take them through to the knockout stages of the tournament in Russia. Poland have already been knocked out.

Jorginho made up for an uncharacteristic error leading to Poland taking a deserved first-half lead by scoring a 78th-minute penalty to ensure Roberto Mancini avoided defeat in his first competitive game.

Portsmouth striker Ronan Curtis has been drafted into the Republic of Ireland squad for Tuesday night's friendly in Poland. The 22-year-old has been added to a depleted party for the game in Wroclaw.

Poland coach Jerzy Brzeczek has warned his players not to treat Tuesday night's friendly clash with the Republic of Ireland as a party for Robert Lewandowski.

CRAIG HOPE IN WROCLAW: Poland manage to salvage a draw in their friendly with the Republic of Ireland after Mateusz Klich cancelled out Aiden O'Brien's debut goal on Tuesday evening.

Italy prepared for Sunday's UEFA Nations League clash with Poland with a training session in the Florence sunshine. Roberto Mancini watched on as the late afternoon sun beat down.

Cristiano Biraghi has paid tribute to his former Fiorentina team-mate, the late Davide Astori, after scoring a last-gasp winner for Italy against Poland. Astori tragically passed away earlier this year.

Wojciech Szczesny will be tasked with keeping the ball out of the net when Poland face the Czech Republic. But he has been showing his team-mates how it is done at the other end of the pitch.

Arkadiusz Milik's second half penalty cancelled out Andre Silva's opening goal for Portugal as the Nations League finalists were held in Guimaraes on Tuesday night.