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BUDAPEST — Cristiano Ronaldo netted a double to become the European Championship’s all-time leading scorer as Portugal struck three times late on to beat a stubborn Hungary 3-0 in their Euro 2020 opener at a packed Puskas Arena on Tuesday.

The holders, who appear to have a much stronger squad than when they won their first major title five years ago, laboured for long periods in Budapest.

But Raphael Guerreiro made the vital breakthrough in the 84th minute and Ronaldo slammed in a penalty shortly afterwards before tapping home in injury time.

“It was essential to start on the right foot in order to gain confidence,” said Ronaldo. “Now, we have to continue and win the next game.”

The Juventus striker has now scored 11 goals in the tournament, two more than French great Michel Platini, who netted nine times when he led France to glory in 1984.

The 36-year-old is also just three goals away from matching Iranian Ali Daei’s all-time international scoring record of 109.

“It was a difficult game, against an opponent who defended very well during 90 minutes, but we scored three goals, and I am very grateful to the team for helping me to score two goals,” he added.

Ronaldo chose by far the biggest crowd of the tournament to break the record in front of, with Budapest the only Euro 2020 venue not to limit fan capacity due to COVID-19.

The Puskas Arena has a capacity of almost 68,000 fans.

“We didn’t deserve a 3-0 defeat, with a bit of luck it could have been a point each, but it was an experience of a lifetime,” said Hungary goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi.

World Cup winners France and three-time European champions Germany meet in the other Group F game later in the day at Munich’s Allianz Arena.

Portugal coach Fernando Santos opted to play Liverpool forward Diogo Jota and Bernardo Silva alongside Ronaldo, with Joao Felix left on the bench.

It almost paid instant dividends, as Jota forced Gulacsi into a smart save with a left-footed drive in the fourth minute, although he perhaps should have squared the ball for an unmarked Ronaldo.

The Portuguese talisman created an opportunity for Bernardo Silva in the 28th minute by winning the ball back high up the pitch, only for the Manchester City winger to delay his shot too long and see the opening snuffed out by an excellent tackle from Hungary centre-back Willi Orban.

Hungary offered very little from open play, although it sent Portugal a warning shortly before half-time when Adam Szalai headed a free-kick too close to Rui Patricio.

Ronaldo misses 

glorious chance

The best chance of the opening period fell to Ronaldo in the 44th minute, only for the Portugal captain to plant the ball over from six yards out after meeting Guerreiro’s low cross.

Portugal came out of the blocks quickly after the break, knowing failure to win would put them in trouble in such a difficult group, with Pepe seeing a downward header well saved by the stretching Gulacsi.

Santos’ men continued to press despite Hungary growing in confidence, with Bruno Fernandes drawing Gulacsi into another fine stop with a dipping strike from long range.

Despite having Felix, in-form Eintracht Frankfurt striker Andre Silva and Pedro Goncalves, last season’s top scorer in the Portuguese league, on the bench, Santos waited until the 71st minute to make a change, sending on Rafa Silva for Bernardo Silva.

Hungary thought they had snatched a shock lead through substitute Szabolcs Schon, but he was denied by the offside flag.

Rafa Silva played a key role in the opening goal, though, as his deflected cross was met by Guerreiro, whose shot also took a huge deflection and dribbled agonisingly into the corner of the Hungarian net.

The home side’s resistance was totally over three minutes later, as Orban pulled back Rafa Silva clean through on goal.

Ronaldo made no mistake, sending Gulacsi the wrong way to add another record to his collection on the day he became the first player in history to play at five European Championships.

There was more to come from Ronaldo, as he danced through after a one-two with Rafa Silva and rolled in his 106th goal for Portugal.

GLASGOW — After 23 years waiting to join in the party at a major tournament, it took just 90 minutes for the hype and hope that has swept Scotland in recent months to make way to a familiar feeling of disappointment.

The Czech Republic silenced a 12,000 crowd at Hampden on Monday with a 2-0 win thanks to two goals and one moment of magic from Patrik Schick that will live long in the memory.

Schick had already headed the visitors into a half-time lead before he fired home from just short of 50 metres early in the second half having spotted David Marshall well off his line.

“I saw he was out there, so I slammed it in,” said the 25-year-old, who was labelled a “genius” by his manager Jaroslav Silhavy.

Yet, it was Scotland’s own self-inflicted wounds that cut deepest for Steve Clarke’s men.

A bad day began before kick-off when Arsenal’s Kieran Tierney was a shock absentee from the starting line-up due to an untimely injury.

Arguably his country’s best player over the past year, Tierney has been fundamental to the improvement under Clarke that saw Scotland ends its long wait to reach a major finals.

Previous managers failed to blend him and Liverpool’s Andy Robertson together in the same side with both natural left-backs.

But Tierney had shone on the left side of a back three in recent months at international level.

Without him, Scotland’s scarce resources of international class centre-backs was exposed, particularly in possession as Jack Hendry, Grant Hanley and Liam Cooper struggled to beat the Czech press.

Yet, Scotland still had more than enough chances for the result to have been very different.

‘Tough lesson’

Robertson was denied by Tomas Vaclik at 0-0, Hendry hit the bar at 1-0 and Lyndon Dykes fired too close to the Sevilla goalkeeper with the chance to get Scotland back into the game 20 minutes from time.

“We were confident, excited, and it comes down to not taking our chances,” said Robertson.

“You can’t say we’ve not created — we’ve had some really, really good chances that we should have done better with.

“If you do better on that, then it’s a different game. It’s a tough lesson for us that at the highest level, at the best tournaments, you have to take your chances. The Czech Republic did that, we didn’t.”

Clarke was determined to stress before the tournament that Scotland were not simply happy to make up the numbers after ending their exile from the big stage.

But hopes of reaching the knockout phase now hang by a thread.

A trip to Wembley to face England on Friday conjures up the perfect opportunity for redemption against their bitterest rivals.

However, the realistic chances of upsetting the side ranked fourth in the world on home soil look slim based on the gulf in class on offer to Clarke and Gareth Southgate.

After two years of an upward curve since taking charge, Clarke will also face questions of his team selection.

In contrast to Southgate’s trust in youth during his time as England boss, Clarke left exciting prospects Billy Gilmour and Nathan Patterson on the bench for the full 90 minutes.

Introducing them for a first international start at Wembley would be a brave call, but the former West Brom and Kilmarnock boss hinted there would be changes when asked if he had any regrets over his starting line-up.

“Hindsight is a wonderful gift; nobody’s got it,” he added.

“It’s a good learning experience. We didn’t come here to learn but you still have to learn your lessons and take your chances when they present themselves.”

Scotland has two more shots at glory, but it has wasted the most presentable one.

Spain opened their Euro 2020 campaign with a goalless draw against Sweden in Seville on Monday after their preparations were badly affected by COVID-19.

Also on day four, Slovakia edged out 10-man Poland 2-1 in Saint Petersburg in Group E.

An own goal from Poland goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny handed Slovakia the lead, but Karol Linetty equalised for Poland.

The Poles were reduced to 10 men on the hour when midfielder Grzegorz Krychowiak picked up a second yellow card, and Slovakia made their advantage count as defender Milan Skriniar drove in a well-taken winner.

LONDON — Harry Kane says England’s new generation passed their first test with flying colours after Gareth Southgate’s side kicked off their Euro 2020 campaign with a 1-0 win against Croatia.

Southgate has infused England’s squad with a vibrant crop of emerging stars and Kane was relieved to see them cope with the pressure of playing in a major tournament for the first time.

While the experienced Raheem Sterling grabbed England’s second-half winner at Wembley on Sunday, Kalvin Phillips, Declan Rice, Phil Foden, Mason Mount and Tyrone Mings played their part in the vital victory.

Those five are all new to the unique demands of playing for England during a tournament, with the additional burden of having to live up the expectations of the home fans at Wembley.

England captain Kane was especially impressed with Leeds midfielder Phillips, who provided the assist for Sterling’s strike as the Three Lions won their opening game at a European Championship for the first time.

“He has been brilliant,” Kane told beIN Sports. “He has just come off the back of a shoulder injury as well. He has been good in training and working hard to be fit for the first game.

“Obviously he was selected and did a fantastic job and there were a few guys out there playing their first game for England in a major tournament and they did their country proud.”

Southgate raised eyebrows with his decision to play right-back Kieran Trippier on the other side of the defence, while he left in-form playmaker Jack Grealish on the bench, with Ben Chilwell and Jadon Sancho absent from the matchday squad.

But Kane backed Southgate and said everyone would have to play their part if England were to become European champions for the first time.

“That is why he is doing his job and the fans are debating. That is part of football,” he said.

“We have got a great squad and you can understand everyone has got their own opinions on who should play.

“But we had a great team performance and it is important we use the whole squad throughout the tournament. It isn’t going to be the same team every week.”

Tottenham striker Kane finished as top scorer in the Premier League this season and won the 2018 World Cup Golden Boot.

But he was unable to make an impact against Croatia before he was replaced by Jude Bellingham late on.

Kane often dropped deep in a bid to dictate play from midfield, yet could not exert his usual influence.

“It has always been a part of my game,” he said. “Sometimes when I drop deep it allows space for the wingers or the midfielders to run in behind.

“It is always about doing my bit for the team. If it means dropping deep, I will drop deep. If it means staying high, I will stay high.”

The Netherlands, back at a major tournament for the first time since 2014, defeated Ukraine 3-2 in a thrilling Group C encounter in Amsterdam.

Dutch captain Georginio Wijnaldum put the hosts ahead early in the second half before Wout Weghorst doubled their advantage.

Ukraine equalised with two quick goals from Andriy Yarmolenko and Roman Yaremchuk, but a Denzel Dumfries header five minutes from time earned Frank de Boer’s side victory.

North Macedonia lost 3-1 to Austria in its first match in a major tournament as an independent nation in Bucharest, despite an equaliser from 37-year-old captain Goran Pandev.

AMMAN — AbdulRahman Al Masatfa has made history by becoming the first Jordanian Karate fighter to qualify for an Olympic Games, according to the Jordan Olympic Committee News Service. 

Masatfa is the ninth athlete to qualify for Team Jordan after his superb performance in the -67kg category at the Karate Olympic Qualification Tournament being held in Paris, France, which attracted 500 fighters from 98 countries. Masatfa had to win an incredible seven fights from 10 bouts, including two draws, in one day to book his place for this summer’s Tokyo Games, where Karate is included for the first time.

Along the way, Masatfa beat 2019 World Champion, Evgeny Plakhutin (Russia); European bonze medallist, Christos Stefanos (Greece) and two-time World Champion, Amir Mehdizadeh (Iran), with his only defeat coming in the quarter-final of the main draw.

Masatfa dropped into the repechage competition after that defeat where he was unbeaten to book his Team Jordan place alongside boxers, Hussein Ishaish, Ziad Ishaish, Obadah Al Kesba, Muhammad Al Wadi and Uday Al Hindawi; Taekwondo stars Juliana Al Sadiq and Saleh Al Sharbati, and equestrian rider, Ibrahim Basharat.

COPENHAGEN — Finland beat Denmark 1-0 in its opening match of Euro 2020 which was overshadowed by Christian Eriksen collapsing and having to be revived on the field by medics.

Joel Pohjanpalo scored the only goal on the hour mark of a Group B match which was stopped for nearly two hours after Danish playmaker Eriksen slumped to the turf towards the end of the first half.

There were fears for his life as he was given CPR by medics on the pitch as his teammates, some distraught, formed a circle around him.

The stadium had fallen into a shocked silence as the medics worked but Eriksen was eventually carried off the field at the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen and a photo showed him apparently holding his head as he laid on the stretcher.

The Danish Football Union (DBU) said the Inter Milan player was awake and had been able to speak to teammates.

“We’ve been in contact with him, and the players have spoken to Christian,” DBU director Peter Moeller told Danmarks Radio.

“That’s the great news. He’s doing fine, and they are playing the game for him,”

The match, which had kicked off at 18:00 local time (16:00 GMT), resumed two-and-a-half hours later in front of a passionate crowd at the Parken Stadium.

Chants of “Christian” and “Eriksen” from both sets of supporters rang around the stadium as news of his status began to filter through to supporters.

The two teams played out an uneventful final few minutes of the first half after both sets of players returned to the pitch with several Danish players in tears.

After a short break of five minutes the second half of the match continued with a similar pattern as before Eriksen’s collapse, with Denmark pressing Finland back but failing to find a way past the opposition defence and Finnish ‘keeper Lukas Hradecky.

Pohjanpalo stunned the crowd into silence with when he headed home Jere Uronen’s cross, capitalising on Finland’s one true chance of the game.

Shorn of the creativity of their shining light Eriksen, the Danes struggled even more to break down the tightly-organised Finns and looked as though they would need some good fortune to get something from the match.

They thought they had got it when Yussuf Poulsen was brought down in the area by Paulus Arajuuri in the 73rd minute, but Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s weak spot-kick was easily saved by Hradecky.

The Danes piled on the pressure but apart from a few skirmishes in the box failed to cause their opponents much trouble and had to deal with defeat which will likely seem unimportant given what happened earlier in the evening.

‘Brave’ Wales

Wales captain Gareth Bale said his side were “brave” in the 1-1 draw with Switzerland in their opening game of Euro 2020 in Baku on Saturday.

Striker Kieffer Moore, standing at 1.95m tall, equalised in the 74th minute after Breel Embolo opened the scoring just after the break.

“We’re not too disappointed with the draw, it could have been worse,” Bale told S4C.

“They’re a top 10 team in the world, they’re there for a reason so we knew in parts we would have to suffer and work hard as a team.

“The best thing for us was to go 1-0 down. We showed a lot of character, like we always do, to fight back, be brave, get on the ball and get the equaliser.”

Switzerland striker Mario Gavranovic had a potential winner chalked off by VAR for offside after he had edged ahead of Wales back four.

“Over the past year I’ve hated VAR but by now, I love it now, fair play,” Wales midfielder Joe Allen said.

“VAR for life.”

Lukaku double

Romelu Lukaku scored twice as Belgium made a strong start to Euro 2020 on Saturday with a 3-0 victory over a disappointing Russia in Saint Petersburg.

Lukaku celebrated his 10th-minute first goal by shouting a message of support into the camera for his Inter Milan teammate Christian Eriksen, who is awake in a Copenhagen hospital after collapsing during Denmark’s game against Finland.

Belgium, the world’s top-ranked side, wrapped up an impressive win with Thomas Meunier’s 34th-minute effort and Lukaku’s late second.

ROME — Italy got its Euro 2020 campaign off the mark with an impressive 3-0 win over Turkey in the curtain-raiser for the postponed continental tournament in front of the home fans in Rome on Friday.

Playing their first major tournament in five years after failing to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, all the goals came in the second half in front of a Stadio Olimpico that was filled to a quarter of its capacity.

Merih Demiral’s own goal put Italy ahead before Ciro Immobile and Lorenzo Insigne netted for Roberto Mancini’s side in the Group A opener.

The win capped an emotional night in the Italian capital which saw 16,000 fans return to the Stadio Olimpico.

“It was important to start well in Rome and I think it’s a satisfaction for the public and for Italians,” said Mancini, whose side are now on a 28-match unbeaten run.

“There was a lot of help from the crowd. It was a beautiful evening, I hope there are many others, but there are still six more for Wembley.”

“We were hoping for another result, but Italy was dominant,” said Turkey coach Senol Gunes.

“The first goal changed things in the second half and we lost control of the game.”

There was a party atmosphere, with a spectacular sound and light show and firework display before kick-off for the opening of the month-long 24-team event, which will be played across 11 countries.

There was a performance by the Italian National Police orchestra, a parade of huge inflatable balloons on the pitch, tenor Andrea Bocelli sang “Nessun Dorma” before a virtual performance from Martin Garrix, Bono and The Edge.

Former Italy World Cup winners Alessandro Nesta and Francesco Totti, who played for Lazio and Roma during their careers at the Stadio Olimpico, carried the ball to the centre of the pitch before kick-off.

Berardi impresses

On the pitch, Italy dominated early on with a three-man attack led by Immobile, who plays for Lazio.

The 31-year-old had several near misses in the first half, coming up against a solid Turkey defence who held their own.

Turkey could also thank goalkeeper Ugurcan Cakir for pulling off a big save on 23 minutes, tipping over Italy captain Giorgio Chiellini’s powerful goal-bound header off an Insigne corner.

Italy finally got on the scoreboard eight minutes after the break when the unfortunate Demiral found himself in the path of a Federico Berardi cross for Immobile, the Juventus defender bundling the ball into his own net.

Leonardo Spinazzola had a chance for a second minutes later, with Immobile sending the rebound wide.

Immobile finally got his goal, his 14th for Italy, and first in a major tournament, in the 66th minute, scoring from a rebound after Cakir had saved from Spinazzola.

And Insigne curled in the third with 11 minutes to go.

Sassuolo winger Berardi had a role in all three goals, with Italy scoring three for the first time in a European Championship match.

All three Italy forwards proved efficient on the night with a defence organised around Juventus veterans Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci holding firm, securing a ninth straight clean sheet.

“We struggled at the start, we tried to accelerate but we hit a wall,” said Immobile.

“In the second half, they were a little more tired, they tried to rush us but the spaces opened up, and we saw our quality at that time.”

Gianluigi Donnarumma was largely unworried in the Italy goal apart from a dangerous Burak Yilmaz cross after half an hour and a solo run by Cengiz Under after coming off the bench after the break.

“From a tactical point of view, Italy was superior,” said Gunes. 

“Italy mastered the pitch and the ball. They suffocated us with pressing and high pace, and they took advantage of playing at home.

“We have to react now.”

Italy, looking for a second European title after 1968, next plays Switzerland in Rome on Wednesday, with 2008 semifinalists Turkey taking on Wales in Baku.

PARIS — The delayed Euro 2020 tournament will finally get underway on Friday, a year behind schedule, with Covid still set to cast a shadow over the event.

The continent-wide event, first envisaged by then-UEFA president Michel Platini when he announced the tournament would be held across Europe, will be played in front of limited crowds and with strict health restrictions in place.

The action gets under way at Rome's Stadio Olimpico, where Italy take on Turkey in front of 16,000 fans.

Spain's preparations for the month-long tournament have been hit after two players, Sergio Busquets and Diego Llorente, tested positive for the virus, although Llorente on Thursday returned a negative test.

The team even had to name a "parallel" squad of 17 reserve players, fearing a possible wider outbreak in the official 26-man squad.

Although captain Busquets still has Covid, Llorente's test result will allay fears that the first-choice side might have to miss Spain's opening game against Sweden in Seville on Monday.

Two Swedish players — forward Dejan Kulusevski and midfielder Mattias Svanberg — have also tested positive for the virus.

But despite the on going threat, UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has been bullish, insisting Euro 2020 will be safe.

"It will be the first event of a global dimension to be held since the pandemic struck," he said.

"It will be the perfect opportunity to show the world that Europe is adapting. Europe is alive and celebrating life. Europe is back."

The clearest illustration of that is set to come from Budapest, where it is hoped the new Puskas Arena will be packed to capacity.

But the majority of the 11 venues, all in different countries, will only be partially-filled for matches, although Denmark on Thursday announced it would lift mask rules and allow 25,000 fans, instead of 16,000, to attend games in Copenhagen.

Munich aims to host a minimum of 14,500 fans — around 22 per cent of the Allianz Arena's capacity, the lowest of the stadiums being used.

Dublin and Bilbao were dropped from the list of hosts after being unable to give guarantees they could meet UEFA's requirement of accommodating limited numbers of spectators, but Seville stepped in for Bilbao while Dublin's games went to London and Saint Petersburg.

France the favourites

On the pitch, France will be firm favourites despite being one of the few traditional giants not to have any games at home. The world champions' first match is in Munich against Germany on Tuesday.

"All the other countries envy us," said a recent front page of French sports daily L'Equipe underneath pictures of Kylian Mbappe, Karim Benzema and Antoine Griezmann.

All eyes will be on 33-year-old forward Benzema, who was recalled after an international exile of five-and-a-half years following a prolific season for Real Madrid.

Holders Portugal, with a star-studded squad led by Cristiano Ronaldo, and Hungary complete a tough-looking Group F.

The other likely contenders among the 24 nations include Belgium, sweating over the fitness of key player Kevin De Bruyne after he suffered facial injuries in the Champions League final, and usual suspects Spain and Italy.

In England, there are hopes Gareth Southgate's young side could take advantage of playing most of their games at Wembley.

England have never before reached a European Championship final, but captain Harry Kane believes the team will start their bid in a "better place" than they were before reaching the 2018 World Cup semifinals.

Ukraine, Russia in shirt row

UEFA has also demanded that Ukraine make changes to its jersey after Russia complained.

European football's governing body said the message "Glory to the Heroes", a rallying cry during the 2014 anti-Russia protests in Ukraine that is featured inside the shirt, was "clearly political in nature" and must be removed.

However, the Ukrainian football association said it was in talks with UEFA to reverse its decision.

The association said to AFP that "earlier UEFA had approved the new kit and every element of it, including the slogan".