Runners up in 2004 on home soil, Portugal are once again among the main challengers and will be looking to go one step further in Austria and Switzerland.
Despite finishing fourth at the last World Cup, Portugal failed to impress in qualifying for Euro 2008 as they were tested by minnows such as Kazakhstan and Armenia and ended up finishing second in their group behind Poland.
They nevertheless have a strong squad with a solid defence and attacking flair, and are more than capable of raising their game to compete with any of the other European heavyweights.
Portugal kick off their Group A campaign against Turkey before locking horns with Czech Republic and Switzerland, but it would be a big shock if they did not reach the latter stages.
A combustible character with a tremendous track record, 'Big Phil' has helped to turn Portugal into one of the most feared teams in international football.
Scolari's greatest success came in 2002 when he guided his native Brazil to World Cup glory, but he left his post soon after to take charge of Portugal - a country with a rich tradition of producing star players but with no great history in major tournaments.
Portugal have become a much more organised outfit under Scolari and the players have displayed a steely determination in reaching the semi-finals or better of the last two competitions that had previously been lacking.
Scolari appeared set to become England coach following the 2006 World Cup after holding talks with the Football Association but he was put off by the media pressure and committed himself to Portugal.
Speculation has again been rife that Scolari could replace Sven Goran Eriksson - this time at Manchester City - but he is not a man who is prepared to disrupt Portugal's preparations and there has there has been no word from him yet on his future.
What is certain is that his focus will be solely on Portugal this summer and he is likely to provide just as much entertainment with his passionate performances on the touchline as his team will on the pitch.
