LISBON, May 23 (SW) - The UEFA U-21 Championship kicked off on Tuesday, with Germany beating Serbia & Montenegro, while the French achieved a win over hosts Portugal.

Serbia & Montenegro - Germany 0-1

The opening match between Serbia & Montenegro and Germany had the latter breaking the deadlock on the hour mark. Eugen Polanski's goal for 0-1 turned out to be sufficient.

Portugal - France 0-1

Hosts Portugal hoped for a good result in their Group A encounter with France, but their opponents had different plans. Jimmy Briand scored the only goal of the match after forty minute.

Group B's teams start their tournament on Wednesday, with Italy against Denmark and Ukraine against the Netherlands.