Defending Euro champ Portugal loses opening World Cup qualifier

Portugal's 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign got off to an inauspicious start Tuesday, as the reigning European champion fell 2-0 to Switzerland.

Playing without Cristiano Ronaldo - the talismanic captain continues to recover from a knee injury suffered in the Euro 2016 final - Portugal still managed to pepper Yann Sommer's goal, firing 27 shots towards the Swiss shot-stopper.

Only two hit the target, however, as Ronaldo's decisiveness in front of goal was noticeably missed.

Switzerland, playing in front of the St. Jakob-Park faithful, had no such issues; a Breel Embolo goal in the 23rd minute gave the host nation the lead, and Admir Mehmedi doubled the advantage seven minutes later with a fine curling effort into the top corner.

Nani, wearing the captain's armband and leading the attacking line in lieu of Ronaldo, spurned a gilt-edged chance in the second half, as Portugal dug itself an early hole in Group B.

Then again, the Selecao also started their 2016 European Championship qualifying campaign with a loss, and things worked out rather well in the end.