Portugal open with a flourish

Perfect start
Orlando Duarte's side were 4-0 winners against Asian champions Iran in Tao Yuan County to make a perfect start to their Group D campaign. It was the ideal warm-up for their second group fixture against the might of Argentina on Wednesday, with the top two nations in the four-team section ultimately progressing to the next stage.

Cagey opening
The Portuguese had to wait for their opening goal, however. After strong Iranian resistance, Luis Silva finally broke the deadlock in the tenth minute. He evaded two challenges before unleashing a fierce right-foot shot into the roof of the net. Four minutes later, it was two when the prolific Leo sent a left-foot effort into the far corner, having gone close with a free-kick just seconds before.

Duarte delighted
The Asian side produced some of their best moves of the game after the interval but Portugal underlined their superiority when Joel Queiros scored on the counterattack. The No6 produced a neat first touch from a long pass before tucking the ball into the net. Zezito wrapped up the victory two minutes from time with a thumping shot from close range. Duarte was delighted with victory, and will be well aware of the message it sent to Argentina, who beat Group D's other side Cuba 3-0 in the day's late game.

Czech comeback
The last European side to play their opening match was the Czech Republic and they left it late to defeat Thailand in today's Group B encounter in Taipei City. The Czechs trailed to a 15th-minute penalty after a foul by goalkeeper Jan Klíma. However, Jaroslav Kamenický brought Michal Stríz's side back into contention in the 34th minute with a shot from the right before Michal Mareš struck the winner with a low left-foot shot barely a minute later.

Brazilian brilliance
The Czechs will next play Australia on Wednesday with the Oceania champions hoping to bounce back after a 10-0 demolition job by Brazil today. The three-time world champions were in imperious form with likes of Schumacher and Vander Carioca, well known to European Futsal fans, on the score-sheet. Brazil play Thailand next in two days' time.

More action
Tuesday's action sees Spain meet Chinese Taipei and Ukraine take on Egypt in Group A, while Group C resumes with Italy against Japan and Paraguay duelling with the United States. uefa.com will provide a full round-up of the day's play.