There was an official attendance of 55,662 to cheer on their team in the Hungarian capital for this Group F encounter but, after resisting Portuguese pressure for 84 minutes, it was Ronaldo who broke their hearts.

Moments earlier the home crowd thought that substitute Szabolcs Schon had put them ahead when he forced the ball past Portugal’s goalkeeper Rui Patricio at his near post, only for it to be ruled out for offside.

Seconds later, Hungary was behind to a deflected shot from Raphael Guerrero and then in the 87th minute Ronaldo extended the lead from the penalty spot, a foul given against Willi Orban for a trip on Rafa Silva.

That was his record 10th goal in the European Championships, putting him one ahead of France’s Michel Platini, in his record fifth appearance at the tournament.

Then, in injury time, Ronaldo danced around goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi and rolled the ball into an open net for the 106th goal of his international career – only three behind the record held by Iran’s Daei.

It was harsh on the Hungarian crowd who created such a vibrant atmosphere in the first match of Euro 2020 to be played before a capacity crowd.

It was Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán who had given the go-ahead to open the Puskás Aréna to as many fans possible.

To be allowed in, fans had to prove they had been fully vaccinated by showing their official vaccination card.

Portuguese and foreign fans, meanwhile, were allowed in if they could provide proof of a negative polymerase chain reaction test within 72 hours before the start of the match.

Group F has been dubbed the "Group of Death" as besides Portugal, the defending European champions, it also contains current World Cup champions France and Germany, the team they succeeded.

France got their campaign off to a positive start as they beat their rivals 1-0 thanks to an own goal from Germany's Mats Hummels in the 20th minute at the Allianz Arena in Munich in the last match of this opening round.

It was the first time that the three-time winners Germany had lost their opening match in the European Championships. 

The scoreline could have been even worse for Germany if France had not had two second-half goals disallowed.

Before the match kicked-off, a Greenpeace protester narrowly avoided disaster after parachuting into the stadium through the open roof.

He lost control after colliding with the Spidercam and came close to making contact with some spectators in the front rows and also passed over the France manager, Didier Deschamps, in his dugout, before descending safely on to the pitch.

There he was helped to his feet by Germany’s Antonio Rüdiger before being escorted away by security.

The second round of matches is due to start tomorrow when Wales will play Turkey in Group A at the Olympic Stadium in Baku followed by Italy against Switzerland at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. 

In Group B, Russia are scheduled to take on Finland at the Krestovsky Stadium in Saint Petersburg.