On a crazy final day of the Euro 2016 group stage in France, teams from the British & Irish isles were left waiting until the very last moments to find out their last-16 fate in the tournament.

One of Belgium, Croatia, Hungary, Northern Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Switzerland and Wales are guaranteed a place in the final - none of whom have a major international honour to their name.

SECRET SCOUT: Sportsmail’s football expert has been busy scrutinising the Euros for prospective Premier League bargains this summer. 

Polish coach Adam Nawalka doesn't want striker Robert Lewandowski compared to Cristiano Ronaldo as the striker faces Switzerland on Saturday having failed to score at Euro 2016.

The underwhelming group-stages are over and Euro 2016's knockout round is underway. Here, Sportsmail columnist MARTIN KEOWN gives his verdict on Saturday's last-16 games.

Switzerland and Poland have both reached the knock-out stage of the European Championship for the first time after finishing runners-up in their respective groups.

Poland are through to the quarter-finals of a European Championship for the first time in their history after defeating Switzerland 5-4 on penalties in Saint Etienne following a 1-1 draw.

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.

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 Bayern Munich striker has become the forgotten man at Euro 2016, overshadowed as each of the other star attractions have stolen the headlines.

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.

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.

Everton and Napoli target Arkadiusz Milik will not be allowed to leave in this window, say his club Ajax. The Polish star is understood have agreed to stay at least until January.

A hat-trick from Robert Lewandowski lifted Poland to a 3-2 victory over Denmark in a thrilling World Cup Group E qualifier in Warsaw on Saturday.

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.

Bucharest police have questioned 17 football fans after clashes at the World Cup qualifier between Romania and Poland on Friday.

The Bayern striker, who scored twice in his country's 3-0 World Cup qualifier win over Romania on Friday, will not be in the squad for the friendly against Slovenia after returning to Germany.

Robert Lewandowski is widely regarded as one of Europe's top marksmen, but the Bayern Munich striker has shown he is more than just a lethal goalscorer with his juggling skills in training.

DOMINIC KING IN MUNICH: What if? Robert Lewandowski has no cause for regret in his stunning career but, from time to time, he asks himself that question and starts to wonder.

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.

OLIVER TODD: Lech Poznan forward Dawid Kownacki has helped fire his club to a title challenge in Poland this season, attracting the attention of some of Europe's biggest sides.

Lewandowski's wife, Anna, gave birth to their daughter on Thursday morning and the proud father wasted no time in posting a picture of himself kissing his child on the head.

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.

Poland and Uruguay played out a goalless stalemate in Warsaw which saw Artur Boruc receive a standing ovation just before half time, as the 37-year-old retired from international football.

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.

European football's governing body announced the three countries had all 'expressed interest' in staging June 2019's semi-finals and final of the inaugural competition.

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 2014 World Cup Golden Boot was won by Colombia's James Rodriguez, who set the tournament alight with six goals and goal of the tournament before earning a transfer to Real Madrid.

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.

Optus won the rights to stream all 64 games of the World Cup to Australian audiences via their online and mobile services. But thousands of viewers were left frustrated by a troubling error message.

Viewers of the match between Argentina and Iceland on Saturday night were forced to sit through delays of up to three minutes - prompting claims for paying customers to be compensated.

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.

Robert Lewandowski is 'an example' to young players everywhere, according to his coach Adam Nawalka, but there is more to this Poland side than the Bayern Munich star's goals.

When it comes to Robert Lewandowski, the numbers do not lie. He scored 41 goals in the season just gone, and hit 43 the year before. He has 55 in 95 games for Poland.