LISBON, June 13: Portugal's sea of red and green turned black when the Euro 2004 hosts lost 2-1 to Greece in the tournament's opening match on Saturday before Spain restored order by beating Russia 1-0.

A 52,000 capacity crowd in the Porto's Dragao stadium, the vast majority praying for a Portuguese victory, watched in disbelief as Greece crashed the party by securing their first victory in a major tournament.

An early strike by Giorgos Karagounis and a penalty by Angelos Basinas soon after halftime left Portugal reeling and Greece celebrating the greatest victory in their soccer history.

Cristiano Ronaldo's headed goal for the home side deep in stoppage time barely raised a smile inside the rapidly emptying stadium. It was the first time Portugal had lost a group game at a European Championship, puncturing the hopes of a nation looking for a tonic to lift them out of economic gloom and prompting an apology from deflated coach Luiz Felipe Scolari.

It was only the second time Spain had won their opening match in the European Championship since the group phase was introduced in 1980. The Spaniards, perennial underachievers, came out of the blocks with real conviction, dominating the game and fully deserving their victory.

The Russians collected a rash of yellow cards as they were forced to contain a confident Spanish side. Defender Roman Sharonov was sent off late in the game for his second bookable offence.

The turning point came in the 59th minute, when coach Inaki Saez brought on Valeron and Xabi Alonso. A minute later, Carles Puyol crossed low from the right and Valeron placed the ball calmly past Sergei Ovchinnikov.

While subdued fans in Lisbon hung their heads, in Athens' main tourist area of Plaka, waiters, their eyes glued to the television, stopped serving food to foreign diners as the seconds ticked down.

Car horns blew and beaming Greeks hugged each other when the final whistle went. Mobile phone networks were stretched to capacity as congratulatory messages flashed across the country. -Reuters

Portugal 1 Greece 2

Spain 1 Russia 0