Alex Bysouth
BBC Sport at Leigh Sports Village

Wow! What a hit. Portugal had been knocking it around nicely, easing themselves into the game, but even when the Swiss won it back it didn't seem like that dangerous a position.

Coumba Sow had other ideas, an absolute beaut of a first-time strike that fizzed into the corner from distance. Great start to this one!

Image source, Getty Images

Here we go.

Group C is up and running at Euro 2022.

Lucy Ward
Former Leeds striker on BBC Sport

Portugal were disappointed to have not qualified automatically, so basically they need to enjoy this tournament and it's a bonus.

Can't underestimate the importance of what they did in 2017 and the infrastructure has increased in Portugal.

Out come the players, Portugal led by Dolores Silva and Switzerland by Lia Walti.

Time for the national anthems now.

Image source, Getty Images

The teams will be making their way out of the tunnel very shortly.

Kick-off is just over five minutes away.

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Leigh looking more like Lisbon today, much to the delight of the Portugal fans.

Alex Bysouth
BBC Sport at Leigh Sports Village

It's a proper party atmopshere as we approach kick-off - clappers going, fans dancing to Stayin' Alive. Even one of the photographers has eased into a gentle two-step.

It's not a sellout today at Leigh Sports Village, but those in the stadium are making themselves heard.

Not long to wait now.

Image source, Getty Images

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Alex Bysouth
BBC Sport at Leigh Sports Village

Image source, Getty Images

Hard to say who's winning on the fan count - outside the ground there was a vocal Portuguese following, especially when the team coach pulled out. Flag-waving youngsters were leaning over the railings to greet the Portugal players.

But there is plenty of red and white inside the stadium, and the fans to my right were hollering and whistling as Switzerland made their way out to warm up.

Journalist Seraina Degen isn't overly optimistic about the chances of Nils Nielsen's side this summer.

She said: "Officially, Switzerland have not set their goals as high as they did when they made their European Championship debut in the Netherlands in 2017.

"There, being eliminated after the group stage was a great disappointment. In England, it would be a surprise if the Swiss were to qualify from a group containing Sweden and the Netherlands.

"In the opening match against Portugal however, a win is a must."

Read Seraina Degen's guide to the Switzerland team here

Image source, Getty Images

On the Swiss side of things, manager Nils Nielsen knows what it takes to go all the way in this competition after leading Denmark to the final in 2017.

That tournament was Switzerland’s only previous appearance at a European Championships, where they went out in the group stage after finishing third in their group behind Austria and France.

Nielsen said it's vital to kick off Euro 2022 with a win: "It's incredibly important, especially in a group like ours, that the first game provides us with at least one point so we are still in the tournament.

"If we lose the first game, it's going to be a very difficult task to go through the group."

What are Portugal's chances I hear you ask?

Sporting Lisbon coach Mariana Cabral has give her assessment.

She said: "We landed on a parachute to the Euros. We weren't expecting it, but I do believe Portugal can take what has happened in a positive way.

"We are still in the very early stages of development. We have great players but most of our players are very young. This will be another opportunity for growth like the first time we qualified for the Euros in 2017.

"It is great news just to be there, but I don't think the Portuguese coach and the players will be happy with just that - they will want to do a bit more."

Read Mariana Cabral's guide to the Portugal team here

Image source, Getty Images

Portugal's only previous European Championship appearance was in 2017, when they finished bottom of the group.

"Our aim is to perform better than we did in 2017," said Portugal boss Francisco Neto.

"It was always going to be a tough start for us in this group, no matter who we were up against in the opening game. We know that Switzerland are the closest team to us in the rankings.

"They have players that ply their trade at top clubs across Europe and are a team that we fully respect but we know that we have our own strengths that will allow us to head into the game full of confidence, and we can compete with them.

"A victory would give us a massive boost and settle our nerves heading into the other group games."

Alex Bysouth
BBC Sport at Leigh Sports Village

Image source, BBC Sport

It’s a beautiful afternoon in Leigh - the sun is shining, a calypso band was playing as we arrived and most fans are rocking up in shorts and t-shirts. Not quite what you expect from the north west of England, but we’re not complaining…

What a day for it.

Portugal and Switzerland fans are out in force in Leigh.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

In group stage qualifying, two of the three lowest scoring qualified teams for Euro 2022 were Portugal (10, the lowest) and Switzerland (20, third lowest).

Portugal’s group games saw just 12 goals scored in total (10 for, two against), eight fewer than any other team’s games.