The draw for Euro 2016 placed Portugal in Group F alongside Iceland, Hungary and Austria.
Coach Fernando Santos reacted to the outcome by saying: "I don't believe in easy draws or difficult draws; I believe in hard work to get results." The cautious reaction is understandable given that both Iceland and Austria impressed in qualifying.
Nevertheless, although they will not admit it publicly, Santos and the Portuguese players must be pleased with the opponents they were handed in the group stage of the tournament in France next summer.
Portugal will start their campaign on 14 June in St. Etienne against Iceland. Four days later the Seleção will take on Austria in Paris. Portugal finish the first phase by playing Hungary in Lyon on 22 June.
If Portugal win the group, they will play the runners-up from Group E, which contains Italy, Belgium, Ireland and Sweden.
Elsewhere, the expanded 24-team tournament threw up a particularly competitive section (Group D), which can be considered the proverbial Group of Death: Spain, Czech Republic, Turkey and Croatia.
The top two nations from each of the 6 groups plus the 4 best third-placed teams will progress to the round of 16.
Reaction from Fernando Santos and Portugal's opponents
Santos on Iceland: "Iceland are a team that have progressed a lot recently. In qualifying for the last World Cup they got to the play-offs, and for Euro 2016 they qualified directly helping knock out the Netherlands, who are an extremely strong team. Everyone is surprised that the Netherlands aren't here and one of the reasons for that is Iceland. This shows the potential of this team who we need to be very careful with."
Santos on Austria: "Austria are a team that haven't been in recent tournaments, but which have been developing and which have excellent players, like Alaba, Arnautovic and Fuchs. I played twice against Austria as Greece manager and I could see that they are a team that is growing very strong. They ended the qualification phase very well and knocked out big teams."
Santos on Hungary: "On the face of it they are the least well known team, and they have not been at a tournament for 44 years. They have a high-quality goalkeeper, Kiraly, and other very high-quality players, but I think their most important asset will be the motivation with which they will be at Euro 2016 and when playing against Portugal."
Lars Lagerback, Iceland coach: "Everybody knows Portugal are a good team. It will be a game where we have to defend very well and above all stop individuals, like Ronaldo. The best thing about the draw is that we start against Portugal, which gives us more days to prepare."
Marcel Koller, Austria coach: "Ronaldo is a world-class player and the Portugal match is going to be the most difficult game, but we're happy to be playing against this world-class team."
Bernd Storck, Hungary coach: "We're in a tough group with difficult opponents. The important thing for us is that we have nothing to lose. It's a good opportunity for us to show what we can do at this level. Portugal are without doubt a fantastic team. For our team and our young players it will be a magnificent opportunity and a good experience."
by Tom Kundert
