COLOGNE, Germany - Famed as one of the most entertaining teams in Europe, the Portuguese left the field Sunday with the crowd's jeers ringing in their ears.

Portugal's Luis Figo, right, and teammates applaud the crowd following the Group D match between Angola and Portugal at the soccer World Cup 2006 at World Cup Stadium in Cologne, Germany, Sunday, June 11, 2006. Portugal won 1-0. The other teams in Group D are Mexico and Iran.[AP]

At least they had a win.

A fourth-minute goal from Pauleta lifted Portugal to a 1-0 victory over World Cup newcomer Angola in their opening Group D match.

But after an exhilarating start the Portuguese faded and scrambled to hang on under mounting pressure from their former colony. By the end, fans turned against the sloppy favorites and cheered for the Angolan underdogs.

It all left Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari thankful for the winning start, if not much else.

"A win, even if it's a close-run thing or is straightforward, is excellent. We got three points, and that's great," he said.

Pauleta got his national record 47th goal in the fourth minute, tapping into an empty net after captain Luis Figo sliced through the Angolan defense and drew out the goalkeeper.

Portugal was stunned in its openers at the 2002 World Cup by the United States and the 2004 European Championship by Greece despite boasting some of Europe's most talented players. Those players were sluggish Sunday after a superb start.

"In its 2002 opening game Portugal was 3-0 down after 30 minutes" in what ended as a 3-2 defeat against the Americans, Scolari recalled. "None of the games so far have been easy. That's what it's like at a World Cup."

The often-inventive Portuguese didn't look like a favorite in Group D. After Pauleta's goal, there wasn't a lot more creativity ¡ª and no more goals.

"It was a tough game. The early goal calmed us down and we could have got three or four more," Scolari said. "But in the second half the Angolans improved, and at times they were better than us."

Still, the Portuguese extended their unbeaten run to 16 games over the past 16 months. They might regret failing to score more against a lower-ranked team if the group's top spot comes down to a tiebreaker.

Angola, an impoverished former Portuguese colony in Africa whose players are mostly from lesser-known clubs, occasionally tested the jittery Portuguese defense, but lacked sophistication. Angola committed 29 fouls to 20 for Portugal.

"Overall, Portugal deserved the win," Angola coach Luis Oliveira Goncalves said. "But we played some nice soccer. We made life difficult for the Portuguese. They have some weak points."

The players displayed no bad blood after their bruising encounter five years ago in which four Angolans were ejected for dirty tackles and the game had to be abandoned 20 minutes from the end.

Portugal, making its fourth World Cup appearance, largely outplayed the Angolans in the early stages. But it faded badly, allowing the Angolans back into the game and keeping the outcome in doubt.

"We knew it was going to be a tough match but I think we played well and can be proud of our performance," Angola midfielder Figueiredo said.

Pauleta twice came close to stretching Portugal's lead in the first 15 minutes. He side-footed a shot past the goalpost after Simao Sabrosa broke free, then volleyed over the crossbar when Angolan goalkeeper Joao Ricardo charged off his line.

Cristiano Ronaldo also put a header off the crossbar, and he nearly made it 2-0 seconds before halftime, but his hard shot was saved by the keeper.

The Portuguese were having it all their way until Angola found some composure on defense. Scolari spent more time standing at the sideline in the second half, barking orders at his players who weren't making enough of the team's possession.

And then a rocketing shot from Andre Macanga forced Portugal goalkeeper Ricardo Pereira to dive at full stretch to keep out.

Angola emerged four years ago from a ruinous two-decade civil war that devastated public infrastructure and brought widespread poverty. While it hardly is a soccer power today, it wasn't overwhelmed by the highly regarded Portuguese.

"I think it was an excellent game. We played well and maybe a lot of people weren't expecting Angola to play such a strong game," Figueiredo said. "But we don't just want to stay at this level. We want to win our next game and we will do our best to reach this objective."