Euro 2012: France and Portugal shocked

A shock result for France and a thrilling home draw for Portugal were the notable results after the first round of qualifying matches for Euro 2012.

France got off to a shocking start under new coach Laurent Blanc as they limped to a 1-0 home defeat to Belarus. Seeking to put their World Cup debacle behind them, Les Bleus started brightly but were thwarted by the heroics of Belarus goalkeeper Yury Zhevnov.

And things got worse for France when Sergey Kislyak hit an 86th-minute winner with the Belarussians' first shot on goal in the match.

Kislyak's goal silenced the home fans in the Stade de France, who had arrived anticipating a new start under former Bordeaux manager Blanc after the departure of unpopular coach Raymond Domenech.

"This is one of the biggest wins in our history," Zhevnov said after the game. "It's going to take a bit of time before we realise what we have done."

Another surprise result occurred in Portugal, where the home side were held to a 4-4 draw with Cyprus in a thrilling match in Guimaraes.

The Cypriot side, all of whom play their club football in Cyprus's domestic league, took the lead after just three minutes when Efstathios Aloneftis was put through a static Portuguese defence and lobbed the stranded Eduardo from the edge of the box.

Portugal, managed on the night by Agostinho Oliveira in the wake of Carlos Queiroz's controversial suspension, roared back on eight minutes with a goal from Hugo Almeida.

The sides traded goals, but it looked as though the home side had won it when former Everton man Manuel Fernandes put Portugal 4-3 up in the 60th minute with a stunning strike from the edge of the box.

But a lapse in concentration right at the death allowed Andreas Avraam to head in from close range, earning a famous point for Cyprus, and prolonging Portugal's misery after a week in which coach Queiroz was handed a six-month suspension for allegedly hindering drug testing.

World champions Spain started their qualifying campaign in typically clinical fashion after a 4-0 win in Liechtenstein.

Goals from David Villa (who is now just one short of Raul's all-time international scoring record for Spain), David Silva and a brace from Fernando Torres helped Spain cruise to a win in Vaduz's Rheinpark Stadium.

Villa had the chance to draw level with Raul's 44 international goals late on, but he hit the crossbar after being played in by David Silva.

Italy needed a goal from Juventus defender Leonardo Bonucci to squeeze past Estonia in Tallinn.

The Estonians took a shock lead against the Azzuri when goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu, making only his second appearance for his country, failed to deal with a long-range free kick and Sergey Zenjov nipped in to score.

But two goals in three minutes around the hour mark sealed a first three points for new Italy coach Cesare Prandelli, as first Antonio Cassano and then Bonucci scored following Andrea Pirlo set-pieces.

Evergreen Miroslav Klose scored the only goal as Germany beat Belgium in Brussels, while the Netherlands recovered from World Cup final disappointment by thrashing San Marino 5-0 away from home, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar hitting a hat-trick.

Crowning the night's action across Europe was a goal of the highest class in Astana, where Turkey overcame Kazakhstan 3-0. Hamit Altintop met a floated corner at the edge of the penalty box and thumped in a quite stunning volley.