Belgium can take heart from the fact that they held a marauding Portugal team in their opening match in the UEFA European Under 21 Championship. Plagued by injuries and a lack of match fitness, Belgium displayed determination of the highest order against a Portugal side featuring the likes of Miguel Veloso, João Moutinho, Yannick Djaló, Nani and Hugo Almeida to say the least.

Belgium skipper Maarten Martens and Anthony Vanden Borre were a constant threat to the Portugal goal in a performance that is sure to have lightened the heart of coach Jean-François De Sart, who was not sure of his staring eleven till as late as Thursday thanks to 10 of his team being called up for senior duty against Finland in the Euro 2008 qualifiers.

Credit must go to Belgium, who put in an inspired performance on a night when Portugal struggled to get their game together despite having more experienced players at club and country level. The goalless draw also triggers hope for Belgium that they might make it past the group stage, but they are in a tight group that also has hosts and defending champions Netherlands and newcomers Israel.

The tournament opener against Israel could not have gone on a better script for Netherlands who won 1-0 thanks to a 10th minute strike by Hedwiges Maduro. Coach Foppe de Haan was delighted to get off to a winning start especially in the light of the fact that the Dutch lost their opening game to Ukraine last year.

Coach de Haan said after the game that the Netherlands still had room for improvement although he welcomed their 1-0 win, which puts them in a comfortable position to qualify for the semifinals of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship. "We've got three points now but we still have a lot to do," he admitted.

One worry for the Dutch is that Aissati appeared to twist his knee a bit too much and the coach is not so sure if he will be fit to take any further part in the tournament.