The pre-match talk was all about Cristiano Ronaldo, who wants to play for Real Madrid, but it was a man who already does, the towering centre-half Pepe, who got Portugal's bid to win Euro 2008 off to a winning start in Geneva last night with a goal Manchester United's Footballer of the Year would have been proud of.

Frustrated for an hour by Turkey’s obdurate resistance and their own inaccuracy, Portugal rattled the framework of Volkan Demirel's goal twice and Pepe had a goal disallowed for offside before he brought relief, exchanging passes with Nuno Gomes before shooting in low, from 12 yards. Substitute Raul Meireles gave the result a more realistic look when he finished from close range in stoppage time.

The result was an entirely equitable one, Luiz Felipe Scolari’s attractive team having been on top throughout.They move on to play the Czech Republic, again in Geneva on Wednesday, with confidence brimming. Turkey passed the ball neatly enough in midfield, but lacked a cutting edge, and will need to improve when they face the Swiss in Basle the same night to have any hope of progress.

It had rained intermittently in Switzerland for four days, but these two were never going to do likewise on the tournament's parade. Portugal arrived with high hopes, founded largely on Ronaldo’s annus mirabilis with United. They were also dependent on their Brazilian-born playmaker, Deco, recovering some semblance of form after a poor season with Barcelona and on Ricardo Carvalho replicating his defensive excellence with Chelsea. None was found wanting.

The Turks, with fewer stellar individuals, relied more on a strong team ethic, but were second best. Neither of these two countries hit the heights in getting here, both qualifying as runners-up from their respective groups, Turkey a distant seven points behind their great rivals, Greece, to whom they lost at home. They have regressed a distance after their third place at the 2002 World Cup.

Before kick-off Ronaldo looked tense, as befits a man who had spent much of the previous 24 hours locked away in his hotel room agonising over his future. The man of the moment was not quiet for long, however, complaining loudly when he went to ground a mite too easily for most tastes in the first attack of the match. His first shot, a real sighter, flew high over the bar from 25 yards. His second, sidefooted from much closer in, was blocked by Servet Cetin.

The Turkish fans were in good voice, as is their wont, but as might have been expected, Portugal were the more assertive side, looking to spread the ball wide, to Simao on the left but more often to the right, where Ronaldo had good support from Chelsea’s new right-back, Jose Bosingwa. When Turkey began to make some progress, they had appeals for a penalty waved away when Tuncay went down well inside the area under challenge by Pepe, the Real Madrid defender.

Portugal thought they had the lead in the 17th minute when, after a corner taken short on the left, Pepe headed in Simao’s cross from six yards. The big defender charged off in premature celebration and had reached the substitutes in the dug-out by the time he realised the flag had gone up, signalling that he had been half-a-yard offside. Simao was back almost immediately, when Deco released him on the left with a lovely long crossfield pass. This time the Atletico Madrid winger had his shot deflected behind.

When Mehmet Aurelio fouled Deco 25 yards out, the scene seemed set for the first of Ronaldo’s trademark free kicks, but Simao took it and fired just over the bar. Ronaldo instead produced a slaloming run through the middle past three would-be tacklers and an attempt by Aurelio to bring him down before shooting wide.

Towards the end of the first half Ronaldo and Simao switched wings and then, after 38 minutes, the reluctant Mancunian let fly with a free kick from the inside-left channel that produced a notable save from Ricardo, plunging to his left to turn the ball against the upright. Pepe, with a set-piece header, and Deco, with a shot deflected over, also threatened before the interval.

Joao Moutinho, the Sporting Lisbon midfielder was positive influence, Ronaldo and Simao were having their moments, but at this stage Portugal's likeliest source of a goal appeared to be Pepe at the far post from set pieces.

On the resumption, Ronaldo reverted to his customary station on the right. Turkey claimed a penalty in the 49th minute when Nihat went down under challenge from Simao, but it was clearly a dive. A minute later Portugal were tantalisingly close to taking the lead when Gokhan Zan floored Simao on the 18-yard line and Nuno Gomes fastened on to the loose ball and drove it against Volkan Demirel's right-hand post

Back on the left again, Ronaldo got away from Hamit Altintop with the simple ease that is genius, only to shoot weakly at the keeper. Moutinho rifled a shot over from distance as Portugal did everything but score. They finally put that right after 61 minutes, when a lovely one-two between Pepe and Nuno Gomes split Turkey’s defence through the middle and culminated in the defender shooting in low from near the penalty spot.

No longer vulnerable to a breakaway, Portugal were much more comfortable and Nuno Gomes was within inches of settling the issue earlier when, from Ronaldo’s cross, he headed firmly against the bar.

Job done, Nuno Gomes gave way to United’s Nani midway through the second half as Scolari changed formation to bolt the door. Ronaldo took the place of the Benfica centre-forward, with Nani on the right of what amounted to a 4-5-1 formation.

Portugal: Ricardo, Bosingwa, Pepe, Carvalho, Ferreira, Ronaldo, Petit, Deco, Moutinho, Simao (Meireles 83min), Gomes (Nani 69min)

Turkey: Demirel, Altintop (Semih 76min), Cetin, Zan (Asik 55min), Balta, Kazim-Richards, Emre, Aurelio, Erding (Sabri h-t), Nihat, Tuncay

Yellow cards: Turkey: Kazim-Richards, Zan, Sabri

Scorer: Portugal: Pepe 61, Meireles 90

Referee: H Fandel (Germany)

Attendance: 29,106