It was first blood to Patrice Evra and Nani in the World Cup qualifying play-offs on Saturday as France and Portugal both recorded victories in the first leg ties.

Evra's joy at Croke Park in Dublin was at John O'Shea's expense as Les Bleus now take a 1-0 advantage into Wednesday's second-leg clash in Paris.

Nicolas Anelka got the game's only goal, a deflected strike in the 72nd minute of a tight game.

O'Shea and Evra both played the full 90 minutes, while Darron Gibson was an unused substitute for the Irish.

Portugal, who were missing the injured Cristiano Ronaldo, were given a slender lead over Bosnia and Herzegovina thanks to Nani's creativity.

It was the United winger's pinpoint centre after 31 minutes that allowed defender Alves to head home at the far post to put Carlos Queiroz's men in the driving seat.

Elsewhere in the European qualifiers, Russia beat Slovenia 2-1 at home, while Greece drew with Ukraine 0-0.