Portugal v Iceland, 11pm, beIN Sports Max 1-4
Cristiano Ronaldo-led Portugal open their Euro 2016 campaign on Tuesday eager to avoid slipping-up against minnows Iceland and aiming to emulate their run to the European Championship semi-finals four years ago.
Portugal lost to eventual winners Spain on penalties in the semi-finals of Euro 2012 and have arrived in France determined to win Group F and book their place in the knock-out stages.
First they must negotiate their way past surprise-package Iceland, who beat the Netherlands home and away in qualifying as the Dutch failed to reach Euro 2016.
The tiny North Atlantic island nation of 330,000 people is making their debut at a major tournament and is the smallest country by population ever to feature at a European Championship.
Former Chelsea and Barcelona forward Eidur Gudjohnsen, 37, has come out of retirement to be part of the Icelandic squad.
Now plying his trade in Norway with Molde, the veteran said it will be a “dream come true” when Iceland face Portugal, who trounced Estonia 7-0 in a warm-up game last Wednesday.
Ronaldo netted twice before coming off at half-time and Iceland's Swedish co-manager Lars Lagerback said his side must ensure a quiet night for Real Madrid's superstar forward.
See also:
• Osman Samiuddin: Minnows Iceland prove upon solid foundations grand designs can be built
• Andy Mitten: Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal's enduring match-winner
• Euro 2016 fixtures: Schedule of when to watch every tournament match in UAE time
“I saw him play for 45 minutes against Estonia. I’m not sure he was really on holiday before but he recharged his batteries, both physically and mentally,” said Lagerback.
“You can expect the best from him – but not against us.”
The current Iceland team’s rise is the result of an ambitious plan, which the country’s football association (KSI) started 15 years ago, to build over 150 small artificial indoor arenas on the island.
It ensured football could be played without interruption through the long Icelandic winter and saw the junior side dubbed the ‘indoor kids’ in qualifying for the 2011 European U-21 finals.
The Icelandic team has a strong team spirit.
“The main key is the mentality of the Iceland players,” said FC Basel midfielder Birkir Bjarnason.
“We are hard working, we don’t give up.
“Many of us have been together for ten years, started together in the U-17s.”
Austria v Hungary, beIN Sports Max 1-4, 8pm
Seen by many as dangerous dark horses at Euro 2016, Austria have an early chance to underline their credentials when they begin their Group F campaign against old rivals Hungary on Tuesday.
The game in Bordeaux will be the 138th meeting of the two nations, but their first encounter in a decade and their first competitively in more than 30 years.
Their only previous clash at a major tournament came in the quarter-finals of the 1934 World Cup in Italy, when Austria won 2-1, and Marcel Koller’s men are the favourites to come out on top again this time.
Propelled by star man David Alaba of Bayern Munich, Austria were superb in qualifying and the full-back, who is deployed in midfield by his country, will be the man to watch out for against Hungary.
"He plays an important role in midfield, particularly because he brings a lot of experience to the table. We hope he continues to perform as well for the national team this summer as he has in qualification and throughout the season as a whole," teammate Marko Arnautovic, of Stoke City, told Uefa's website.
Arnautovic is one of several Austrians coming into the European Championship on the back of impressive seasons in England, with Leicester City left-back Christian Fuchs and Tottenham Hotspur defender Kevin Wimmer also set to feature.
It will also be a memorable evening for the Austrian full-back Gyorgy Garics who, as his name suggests, is Hungarian by birth and only moved to Austria as a 14-year-old.
Garics, of Darmstadt in the Bundesliga, could be forgiven for momentarily forgetting which side he is on when the national anthems ring out in Bordeaux.
“I will certainly sing the Austrian anthem and probably the Hungarian as well and I think no-one can blame me for that,” Garics told media.
“I hope we will get three points against Hungary, but after that I’ll support them as well to advance.”
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