With Ronaldo carrying an injury, Queiroz had pleaded for the youngster to be allowed a rest, but in Luiz Felipe Scolari he did not find a compliant Portugal boss.

The Euro 2004 runners-up were beginning a new era with Rui Costa and Luis Figo having retired from international football.

Ronaldo broke the deadlock by firing home in the 58th minute after Jorge Andrade’s shot had been blocked, and then a minute later he set up Pauleta for Portugal’s second.

Latvia coach Aleksandrs Starkovs, who this week agreed to join Spartak Moscow, was sent from the touchline by English referee Graham Poll for protesting that Ronaldo had handled the ball for the opener.

Chelsea’s Eidur Gudjohnsen scored a second-half penalty, but his Iceland were beaten 3-1 in Reykjavik by Bulgaria, for whom Dimitar Berbatov netted twice in the group eight clash.

Crystal Palace midfielder Aki Riihilahti netted from close range as Finland coasted to a 3-0 win over likely Group 1 whipping boys Andorra.

Romania will fancy themselves as serious contenders to qualify from that group, particularly now after posting back-to-back wins to top the early standings.

With Holland and the Czech Republic yet to begin their campaigns, Romania moved onto six points by winning 2-1 against FYR Macedonia, their winner coming three minutes from time, with Chelsea’s Adrian Mutu the goalscoring hero.

While the Republic of Ireland were perfectly impressive at Lansdowne Road, crushing Cyprus 3-0, they were then given a warning of group four rivals Switzerland’s scoring power.

The Swiss posted a 6-0 victory over the Faroe Islands, with Johan Vonlanthen and Alexandre Rey both bagging hat-tricks.