England and Italy were able to start repairing their reputations with contrasting wins in their first Euro 2012 qualifiers and Spain swatted away Liechtenstein 4-0 with an ease befitting their status as world and European champions.
England played with the quick passing and invention that eluded them in South Africa as they beat Bulgaria 4-0 at Wembley, Jermain Defoe netting a smartly taken hat-trick and Adam Johnson getting the fourth in the Group G clash.
There were wins too for Germany, Russia and the Netherlands - who provided a heartwarming moment with the goalscoring return of Ruud van Nistelrooy - but the night's compelling story was in Paris, where it became abundantly clear that a change of coach alone will not change French fortunes.
Laurent Blanc's first competitive match since replacing Raymond Domenech after a World Cup campaign that veered between farce and fiasco offered few positives as a late goal from Sergei Kislyak consigned them to a Group D defeat.
"I want to thank the fans who came here to support us," France captain Florent Malouda told the angry crowd.
While Europe's first big night of competitive international action since the World Cup was a chance for atonement for some, it was a celebration for the three big success stories of a tournament dominated by the continent.
Spain led the way as two goals from Fernando Torres and one from World Cup hero David Villa - who moved to within one goal of equalling Raul's scoring record for the country - helped them brush past Liechtenstein in a Group I match in Vaduz.
"If it comes back ag
