Ronaldo-less Portugal stunned by Switzerland in World Cup qualifiers

Portugal, who were playing without their injured star striker Cristiano Ronaldo, opened their 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign with a shocking 0-2 defeat at the hands of Switzerland here at St. Jakob-Park on Wednesday.

Despite making a bright start, the European champions fell behind in the 23rd minute of the match when Breel Embolo put Switzerland in lead by heading home his second international goal and first since October 2015.

Just seven minutes later, the Swiss side piled further misery on Portugal as Admir Mehmedi finished off a rapid break with a two-goal advantage, goal.com reported.

Although Switzerland were reduced to 10 men when midfielder Granit Xhaka was dismissed following two yellow cards in the second half, they had done enough to seal three points against their main rivals for the top spot in the Group B.

Portugal will next lock horns with Andorra on October 7.