Newcastle United confirm third pre-season friendly against European heavyweights

Newcastle will face Benfica at the Estadio da Luz on Tuesday, July 26 (8pm kick-off).

The match will be played for the Eusebio Cup, an invitational match which has seen some of the world’s elite clubs like Real Madrid, Inter Milan, Ajax and Sau Paulo compete for over the years.

The Estadio da Luz hosted the 2020 Champions League final and is a venue that Newcastle have played at fairly recently.

The Magpies faced Benfica there during their 2012/13 Europa League campaign but were defeated 3-1 in the first-leg of their quarter final clash with the Eagles - they would eventually lose the tie 4-2 on aggregate.

Three days after this clash in Portugal, Newcastle host Serie A side Atalanta at St James’s Park (7:45pm kick-off) before facing Athletic Bilbao a day later on Saturday, July 30. A kick-off time for that match is still to be confirmed.