Goals seven minutes apart in the first half from teenage sensation Breel Embolo and Admir Mehmedi gave the Swiss the points at the St Jakob-Park in Basel as they got off to the ideal start in qualifying Group B.
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Elsewhere in that group, Sweden held the Netherlands to a 1-1 draw with a Wesley Sneijder goal cancelling out a chip from Marcus Berg, while Bulgaria beat Luxembourg 4-3 thanks to an injury-time victor from former Aston Villa winger Aleksandar Tonev.
It is the beginning of a new era for Sweden, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic now retired from global football and Janne Andersson having replaced Erik Hamren as coach.
Still, Marcus Berg scored a Zlatan-esque goal with a chip from just inside the penalty area shortly before halftime.
However, Wesley Sneijder followed in to convert the rebound and make it 1-1 midway through the second half after Robin Olsen had saved from Daryl Janmaat.
Bulgaria went ahead through Dimitar Rangelov on 16 minutes, but found themselves fighting back with a goal from Marcelinho (66) and a free-kick by Ivelin Popov (80) before Bohnert’s late strike and then Aleksandar Tonev sparked wild celebrations from the home supporters.
European champion Portugal had to leave Cristiano Ronaldo out of its squad to face Switzerland and was deservedly beaten 2-0 in Basel. It also had midfielder Granit Xhaka sent off in stoppage time for a second yellow card.
It quickly got worse for Portugal as Admir Mehmedi finished off a rapid break by majestically picking out the top-right corner, sending Vladimir Petkovic’s team into half-time with a two-goal advantage.
Santos replaced the disappointing Eder and William Carvalho with Andre Silva and Joao Mario for the second half in attempt to spark life into his side, but Switzerland maintained their discipline and proved hard to break down. Michy Batshuayi missed a late penalty but it was a positive start for Roberto Martinez’s men.
Martinez’s side had been booed by some Belgian fans after a 2-0 defeat by Spain in a friendly last week, but a double from Toffees striker Romelu Lukaku and a late third from Yannick Carrasco gave them three points. Veteran centre-back Emir Spahic book-ended the game with a goal in either half and former Manchester City man Edin Dzeko was also on target.
Making up Group B, Latvia recorded a tight 1-0 win away in Andorra, thanks to a sole strike from 21-year-old Valerjis Sabala at the start of the second half.
Further goals from Haris Medunjanin (71), Vedad Ibisevic (83) and a second by Spahic in stoppage time completed the rout.
Playing the “home” game in Faro, Portugal, while its own stadium is being built, Gibraltar leveled Greece’s 10th-minute opener with a curling shot by Liam Walker in the 26th.
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The home team should have been three goals up in the 70th minute when Mehmedi set up Blerim Dzemaili to shoot from close range, but he skewed the effort wide.
