The defending champions were off to a flyer in Nations League.
Portugal squared off against Croatia in the Nations League at Estadio do Dragao.
Joao Cancelo provided the breakthrough minutes before the halftime whistle and Portugal followed up with more goals in the second half.
Diogo Jota, Joao Felix and super-sub Andre Silva found themselves on the scoresheet, helping the defending champions to a 4-1 win.
The 2018 World Cup finalists, who scored only one goal through Petkovic, were complacent throughout the game as the absence of big names was clearly felt.
Elsewhere. Portuguese youngsters proved their worth even without their talisman Cristiano Ronaldo, who was forced to sit out due to toe infection. The Juventus ace is one shy of reaching his 100th goal for his national side.
Jota and Bruno Fernandes put up an impressive performance, with the latter one setting up for Cancelo’s goal.
The Manchester United midfielder was overflowing with creativity as he provided as many as five key passes.
Portugal will next face Sweden in the matchday 2 of the Nations League.
The defeat will be an eye-opener for the Croats as they will try to get into the groove in the coming games.
Veterans like Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic were huge misses but Croatia have to get the best out of their available talents.
