The 80-1 outsiders, Greece, turned up to the opening game against hosts Portugal and within 7 minutes had caused the first upset of Euro 2004 by going 1-0 up. Poor defending allowed Karagounis the honour of scoring the first goal of the tournament. As the first half progressed, the Portuguese players began to overcome their first night nerves and showed signs of making a recovery. But the Greeks defended well, and the first half ended 0-0.

Just 6 minutes into the second half, things went from bad to worse for the hosts when Ronaldo fouled Seitaridis in the Portugal box. Referee Pierluigi Collina, making his last appearance in a European tournament before the Italian age limit forces him to retire, immediately pointed to the box. A confident Basinas made no mistake with the penalty kick. Portugal 0, Greece 2. The home crowd, who had been quite animated before the match, went very quiet, and what noise they did make was mostly to express their displeasure with the performance of their own players. Many left the ground early as it became obvious that this just wasn't the home team's night. Obvious or not, they missed seeing their team score a very late consolation goal in the third minute of injury time. But it was too little, too late.

A shock early on whets the appetite for more shocks to come, and this result will give great hope to the unfancied countries. The Portuguese badly underperformed, and they will get a bad press tomorrow. They will surely do much better in their two remaining group matches. But this result is just what the doctor ordered to heighten interest in Euro 2004, and remind players and fans alike that nothing can be taken for granted. Bring on the Germans!

The opening day's second match, Spain v Russia, hinged on the 59th minute of the game. Despite playing some good football, Spain were unable to break down a resolute Russian defence, which appeared to have been given instructions to play for a draw. The Spanish coach made two substitutions on 59 minutes, bringing on Valeron and Alonso for Morientes and Baraja. 36 seconds later, Valeron scored the only goal of the game with his first touch of the ball! The expression beloved of football pundits is "inspired substitution". Being a cynic, I'd put it down more to luck than judgement, but a coach's career can hinge on such moments, and the better side won the match, so football purists can be satisfied. There were also eight bookings and a sending-off, but that was down to a fussy referee.

The result rather rubbed salt into Portugal's wounds, as they now lie at the bottom of the group - and the rivalry between Portugal and Spain is like that of the Netherlands and Germany - two small countries that don't like to be upstaged by their larger neighbour.

But, as first days go, this wasn't bad.

7:53:51 PM