Cristiano Ronaldo had plenty of fun in front of goal again, while the Netherlands finally got some form going at home, with France banishing the ghosts of 1993 in some style in their FIFA 2018 World Cup qualifier on Friday.
Ronaldo, returning to international action for the first time since suffering an injury in the final of Euro 2016, showed no signs of rust, no signs of "let me get into the groove slowly", firing in four goals in a 6-0 thumping of Andorra in Aveiro.
The goal glut started in the second minute, continued in the fourth, with the Real Madrid superstar netting a hat-trick with a strike in the 47th, before adding the fourth goal to his name in the 68th minute. Joao Cancelo and Andre Silva also scored as Portugal bounced back from their opening Group B defeat to Switzerland.
In the other matches of Group B, the Faroe Islands surprised Latvia 2-0, while Switzerland kept their 10% record intact with a hard-fought 3-2 win over Hungary.
In a match that Hungary refused to let go of, Adam Szalai equalised twice after Haris Seferovic and Ricardo Rodriguez had given the Swiss a 1-0 and 2-1 lead respectively, with substitute Valentin Stocker then netting the decider one minute from time.
Group A saw the Netherlands and France pick up 4-1 wins. Under pressure to perform in front of their own fans, after five straight defeats at home, Holland warmed up for the blockbuster clash against France next week, in impressive fashion. Quincy Promes got the Dutch on their way with goals in the 15th and 31st minutes, and while Aleksey Rios made it 2-1 right after halftime, Davy Klaasen and Vincent Janssen were on hand to make sure this would not be another one of those forgettable outings for Danny Blind's men.
An outing that France have been trying to forget is a 2-1 defeat in 1993 to Bulgaria, which led to them failing to qualify for the 1994 World Cup. And in their first meeting in France since that match, Les Blues ensured there would be a measure of revenge gained with an authoritative show at the Stade de France.
Kevin Gameiro, on return to international duty, grabbed a brace and Dimitri Payet and Antoine Griezmann added one each, with Mihail Aleksandrov's opening goal, from the penalty spot, proving to be just a consolation in the end.
The final Group A match saw Sweden maintain their unbeaten start with a nervy 1-0 win over Luxembourg – Mikael Lustig scoring the all-important goal.
In Group H, Roberto Martinez's Belgium beat Bosnia-Herzegovina 4-0, with Premier League trio Eden Hazard, Toby Alderweireld and Romelu Lukaku all scoring.
Estonia also won 4-0, against Gibraltar, while Greece got the better of Cyprus 2-0, thanks to goals from Konstantinos Mitroglou and Petros Mantalos.
Results: Group A: Netherlands 4-1 Belarus; France 4-1 Bulgaria; Luxembourg 0-1 Sweden.
Group B: Portugal 6-0 Andorra; Latvia 0-2 Faroe Islands; Hungary 2-3 Switzerland.
Group H: Greece 2-0 Cyprus; Estonia 4-0 Gibraltar; Belgium 4-0 Bosnia-Herzegovina.
