The Latest: Portugal wary of Poland counter-attacks


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PARIS (AP) — The Latest from soccer's European Championship (all times local):

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8:20 p.m.

Poland's pace is the main concern for Portugal coach Fernando Santos heading into their quarterfinal match in Marseille on Thursday.

With its main striker Robert Lewandowski failing to score so far, Poland has relied on its defense and quick counter-attacks to carry the team into the last eight.

Santos says he has warned his side of Poland's ability to "go from defense to attack every fast.

"They are a very balanced team. I don't think they resemble any team we have played so far," Santos says. "We will have the ball and try our best to make use of our stronger points. We want to have possession in order to score."

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7:40 p.m.

Belgium coach Marc Wilmots says Michy Batshuayi was allowed to leave the team's training camp just outside Bordeaux on Wednesday to undergo a medical examination at a nearby hospital.

The Marseille striker has been heavily linked with a move to Chelsea in the English Premier League.

Wilmots said Marseille requested that Batshuayi was freed for two hours to have a medical, adding: "I just ordered the taxi."

Batshuayi scored for Belgium with his first touch of the ball after coming on as a substitute in the 4-0 win over Hungary in the round of 16.

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7:25 p.m.

France left back Patrice Evra had an injury scare in training, when hurting his left hand after a collision with midfielder Moussa Sissoko.

The injury appeared to happen as Evra fell to the ground and the team's medical staff quickly applied ice and bandaged his hand.

The 35-year-old Evra then did some stretching, but did not join in with his teammates for the remaining 10 minutes of the evening session.

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6:55 p.m.

Poland striker Arkadiusz Milik is looking forward to meeting one of his footballing heroes in his team's quarterfinal on Thursday: Cristiano Ronaldo.

The 22-year-old Ajax striker, who has found the net once at Euro 2016 but has also squandered plenty of chances, says the Portugal star is a source of inspiration.

Speaking through an interpreter, Milik says Ronaldo is "an example of hard work. It's not just talent, you need to work hard - he's a great example of that."

Milik says it will be great to meet Ronaldo on the pitch, "but, of course, I will try to focus on me and my team and not look up at him."

Ronaldo will meanwhile be hoping to add to his list of records. He needs one goal to equal Michel Platini's record of nine goals at European Championships.

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6:10 p.m.

Poland coach Adam Nawalka is calling on referees to protect struggling striker Robert Lewandowski in the team's quarterfinal against Portugal on Thursday.

Still without a goal at the European Championship, Lewandowski has been on the receiving end of 16 fouls through four matches - more than any other player at the tournament.

Nawalka says Lewandowski "is marked very tight... double, triple marked and they try to attack him on the border of a foul every time."

The manager adds that "referees should be paying attention to brutal fouls in football in general when an opponent is trying to eliminate a player at any cost."

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6:00 p.m.

Four years after Italy beat Germany in the semifinals of Euro 2012, the defeat still haunts the world champions.

"We still have a score to settle with the Italians. We have enough players here who were there in 2012," Germany's goalkeeping coach Andreas Koepke said ahead of Saturday's quarterfinal between the two sides. "We've become more experienced and savvy... We'll have to deliver our top performance but we're ready to re-write this story."

Germany has yet to concede a goal in four games at the tournament and defender Mats Hummels is confident about the back line's ability to deal with Italy at the Stade de Bordeaux.

"There isn't a big area for improvements," Hummels said. "Everything is already fine."

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5:25 p.m.

Germany is hoping that left back Jonas Hector quickly recovers from a cold as the world champions prepare for Saturday's quarterfinal against Italy.

The 26-year-old Hector was the only member of Germany's squad to miss training at its tournament base at Evian-les-Bains on Wednesday, though he is expected to be fit for the game in Bordeaux.

"We don't think it's anything more serious," said Germany goalkeeping coach Andreas Koepke, who added that the other 22 squad players had a particularly intensive training session at the Stade Camille Fournier.

Defenders Jerome Boateng and Mats Hummels, midfielder Sami Khedira and winger Julian Draxler all trained normally after overcoming slight knocks picked up in Sunday's 3-0 win over Slovakia in the round of 16.

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4:05 p.m.

Four France players underwent an early morning anti-doping test at the team's Clairefontaine training camp on the outskirts of Paris on Wednesday.

Left back Patrice Evra, midfielders Blaise Matuidi and Moussa Sissoko, and winger Kingsley Coman were all tested at around 7:30 a.m.

The French Football Federation said on its website that the four players had urine and blood samples taken by two UEFA officials.

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2:50 p.m.

Iceland's co-coach Lars Lagerback is not letting standards slip in the wake of his team's 2-1 victory over England, and has even criticized some of his players for turning up late for dinner.

At the team's tournament base in southeastern French city of Annecy, Lagerback said "it was a little sloppy yesterday in that a few of the guys were late to dinner. It's not a big thing. Normally we don't care if it's not a very long time, we're quite flexible."

Lagerback said his team has to keep the focus and not get carried away by Monday's win over England, which ranks as one of the biggest surprises in European Championship history.

Iceland meets France in a quarterfinal on Sunday at the Stade de France.

Heimir Hallgrimsson, the other joint-coach, acknowledged his side faced a huge challenge against a team with more technical ability and the resilience to always keep going.

"We have raised the standard of Icelandic football and we will maintain that standard and keep pushing forward," Hallgrimsson said.

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1:45 p.m.

Italy midfielder Daniele De Rossi has missed a second successive training, raising questions over his fitness for Saturday's European Championship quarterfinal against Germany.

De Rossi limped off in the 54th minute of Italy's 2-0 win over Spain in the round of 16 on Monday, after taking a knock to his right thigh.

His replacement, Thiago Motta, was shown a second yellow card of the tournament and is suspended for the match against the world champion.

Italy coach Antonio Conte is already without winger Antonio Candreva, who has missed the past two matches with a groin injury.

Italy's medical staff will provide more information Wednesday on whether De Rossi or Candreva will be able to play some part in the quarterfinal-match in Bordeaux.

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1:10 p.m.

Belgium won't be lacking for support when it takes on Wales in the quarterfinals of the European Championship as it tries to make the final four in a major competition for the first time since the 1986 World Cup.

The game on Friday takes place in the northern French city of Lille, which is just 10 kilometers or so from the Belgian border. Fans of the team have already turned up in droves in the city for Euro 2016 games in Lille, and nearby Lens.

Local fans should also swell their ranks both in and out of the Stade Pierre-Mauroy. For two of the Belgium's players, Eden Hazard and Divock Origi, it will be homecoming of sorts. Both started their professional careers at the local club Lille.

Wales' boisterous fans will do their best to compensate, no doubt. Wales is looking to go one further than its previous best appearance in a major tournament. Back in 1958, it lost its quarterfinal match to Brazil to a solitary goal from a young Pele.

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