“[Optimistic?] Yes, clearly Portugal are favourites, but let's not think about that. Let's think about the World Cup”, said the coach, in Frankfurt, moments after the draw which placed Portugal in Group J, along with Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iceland, Luxembourg, Slovakia and Liechtenstein.

Santos, moreover, immediately considered the draw to be “atypical”, since “at this point we would be discussing the issue of the European Championship and the qualifying games, but we have the World Cup” and, therefore, “the focus must be on be the World Cup”.

The top two of the 10 groups qualify directly for the Euro2024 finals, joining hosts Germany, with the remaining three spots being decided through a 'play-off', to be played in March 2024.

The European qualifying round for the next UEFA European Championship will take place between March and November 2023, and the 'play-off' is scheduled for March 2024.

Euro2024 will take place between June 14 and July 14, 2024, in Germany.