Brentford announce pre-season friendly against Portuguese giants Benfica

Brentford have announced they will face Benfica at the Estadio da Luz next month as part of a pre-season tour of Portugal.

The Bees will face the Primeira Liga runners-up on Thursday, July 25 at 8pm, and the match will coincide with the squad’s training camp in Portugal as they prepare for the 2024/25 Premier League campaign.

Thomas Frank’s side staved off relegation to finish 16th in the top-flight last season, with injuries hitting them hard after a ninth-place finish the previous year.

The club also announced on Monday that, besides the Benfica friendly, they will also play a match behind closed doors against lower-league Portuguese side Estrela da Amadora on July 30.

Brentford will then face Watford on August 3 and Bundesliga outfit Wolfsburg on August 9, after they have returned from their tour of Portugal.

There will also be a behind-closed-doors game against National League side Sutton United on an unconfirmed date in July.

The Bees announced last week that B-team defender Ji-soo Kim and goalkeeper Ben Winterbottom will both be promoted to the first-team squad for next season.

Seven Brentford players will be present at Euro 2024, including Denmark quartet Mathias ‘Zanka’ Jorgensen, Mathias Jensen, Mikkel Damsgaard and Christian Nørgaard.

Also at the tournament are Albania’s Thomas Strakosha, Netherlands goalkeeper Mark Flekken and England striker Ivan Toney.