LONDON: Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo (pic) scored and celebrated as his side recovered from an early scare in Luxembourg this morning to start their World Cup Group F qualifying campaign with a 2-1 win, Reuters reported.
A fifth of Luxembourg's population is Portuguese and many turned up in the 8,000-strong crowd at the compact Josy Barthel Stadium but they were stunned when a Portuguese-born Luxembourgian Daniel da Mota punished a clumsy start by the favorites to put the hosts ahead with a fierce drive in the 13th minute.
Ronaldo, who hit the headlines after failing to celebrate two league goals last weekend for Real Madrid and telling reporters he was "sad", levelled 15 minutes later.
Ronaldo slotted in an easy goal and greeted teammates with a clenched fist, celebrating the equalizer not too exuberantly but apparently happy.
The visitors kept pressing on and were too strong for Luxembourg who succumbed to a coolly-taken drive by Helder Postiga in the 54th minute.
Portugal, also drawn with Russia, Israel and Northern Ireland in Group F, host Azerbaijan in Braga on Tuesday.
Goals from Robin van Persie and Luciano Narsingh got Holland back on track after a disappointing European Championship campaign as they beat Turkey 2-0 in their opening Group D qualifier.
Van Persie put the Dutch in front after 17 minutes while Narsingh broke through on the counter attack in added time to seal an 11th straight World Cup qualifying win for the hosts.
A first-half goal by Abou Diaby gave France a winning start in Group I as they snatched a 1-0 win in Finland.
Diaby, whose career has been hampered by injuries and had not played for Les Bleus since June last year, netted with a cross shot from Karim Benzema's through pass in the 20th minute.
"Last season was a tough one but I don't want to look behind, I prefer to move forward," said Diaby.
Finland also had chances but proved too clumsy to make their presence in the box count as new coach Didier Deschamps claimed his first win in his second match in charge since taking over from Laurent Blanc after Euro 2012.
France, who had Hugo Lloris to thank for in the final minutes after the keeper made a lightning quick save, next play Belarus at Stade de France on Tuesday in the second game of a group also featuring world and European champions Spain.
Bulgaria's lively midfielder Georgi Milanov struck midway through the second half to earn them a 2-2 draw at home to new-look Italy in their opening qualifier.
Bulgaria, who failed to score in their four home Euro 2012 qualifiers, took a deserved lead when Stanislav Manolev gave Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon no chance with a stunning 30-metre drive on the half-hour in the Group B clash.
But Italy, who switched to a 3-5-2 formation, responded in style with striker Pablo Osvaldo scoring twice in four minutes before halftime.
The striker netted from close range in the 36th minute from the unmarked Claudio Marchisio's clever assist and gave the Azzurri the lead when his header took a deflection five minutes before the break.
Milanov made it 2-2 with a fine shot from 10 metres following a right-wing cross from substitute Iliyan Mitsanski after 66 minutes.
Mesut Ozil scored twice as Germany began their campaign with a predictable 3-0 win over a defensive disciplined but extremely limited Faroe Islands.
There was early drama as Faroes goalkeeper Gunnar Nielsen kept the hosts at bay for almost half an hour and a hint of desperation was creeping into the Germans' play before Mario Goetze broke through.
After that Germany relaxed, stroked the ball around, often at walking pace, and completed the European Group C win with two Ozil goals in the second half.
The game was largely played in near silence, broken only by a monotonous drum-banging in the background, and even the goals brought only muted cheers from the crowd.
Nielsen made excellent saves to defy Sami Khedira and Marco Reus as the opening exchanges resembled an attack-versus-defence training session.
Goetze settled German nerves in the 28th minute when he collected the ball around 30 metres from goal, weaved his way between the Faroe defenders and rolled the shot just inside the post from 12 metres.
A rare Faroes Islands attack led to Germany's second in the 54th minute. The hosts broke out of defence, Thomas Mueller crossed from the byline and Ozil swept the ball into the net from 12 meters.
The Real Madrid midfielder provided another neat finish in the 72nd minute when Reus slipped the ball to him and he clipped the ball past Nielsen from the edge of the area.
An opportunist goal by substitute Nikica Jelavic earned Croatia a 1-0 win over fellow former Yugoslav country Macedonia in Group A.
There were jubilant scenes in Reyjavik as Iceland sealed a shock 2-0 victory over Scandinavian neighbours Norway in their opening Group E qualifier thanks to goals from Kari Arnason and Alfred Finnbogason.
Coached by Swede Lars Lagerback, Iceland took the lead after 21 minutes when Arnason bundled the ball in from a throw-in following a mistake by Norwegian goalkeeper Espen Bugge Pettersen.
Norway's Joshua King had a goal ruled out for offside midway through the second half before Finnbogason doubled Iceland's lead in the 80th minute, beating the offside trap from the halfway line and finishing coolly past Bugge Pettersen.
After the first round of matches Albania top group E on goals scored ahead of Switzerland and Iceland, followed by Cyprus, Norway and Slovenia.
Vedad Ibisevic and Edin Dzeko scored hattricks to help Bosnia thrash Liechtenstein 8-1 in their opening qualifier.
Montenegro and Poland fought out a tense 2-2 draw in a Group H qualifying game marked by two red cards.
The visitors took an early lead from the penalty spot when Robert Lewandowski was fouled in the fifth minute. Jakub Baszczykowski stepped up to score.
The Poles seemed disturbed after their goalkeeper Przemyslaw Tyton was struck by a firecracker thrown from the crowd, with more objects landing nearby.
Nikola Drincic and then, on the stroke of halftime, Mirko Vucinic, gave the home side the lead, only for Poland to grab an equalizer after Adrian Mierzejewski headed in Ludovic Obraniak's free kick in the 55th minute.
Tempers became frayed as the second half continued.
Referee Kristinn Jakobsson sent off Montenegro's Savo Pavicevic in the 69th minute after he elbowed Borussia Dortmund striker Robert Lewandowski.
Two minutes later Poland's Ludovic Obraniak saw red after he pushed an opponent.
"This looked very similar to a war," said Poland's new coach Waldemar Fornalik. "Because of this one point is even more valuable."
- mD
