FIFA World Cup 2022, Portugal vs Ghana highlights: Ronaldo's record goal helps POR beat GHA 3-2 in thriller
FIFA World Cup 2022, Portugal vs Ghana highlights: Cristiano Ronaldo missed a couple of big chances in the early stages of the first half but finally put his team in front with a goal from the penalty spot just after the hour-mark. That seemed to open up a flurry of goals as Ghana equalised shortly after that before Portugal scored twice to take a 3-1 lead. Ghana then scored another but that is where the scoring ended as Portugal took the three points. ...Read More
POR vs GHA Live, FIFA World Cup: FULL TIME! Portugal win 3-2
Wow Portugal goalkeeper Diogo Costa almost committed what could have gone down as the blunder of the tournament to almost squander the lead in the last 10 seconds of the match. He rolled the ball forward after catching it at the end of a hopeful cross into the box. Inaki Williams had darted forward to claim it before running past Costa and it seems the latter was unaware of the presence of the Bilbao forward. He rolls the ball forward to take a leisurely kick, only to latter scramble after it after Williams charged towards it and almost turned it into the back of the net. A chaotic finish to the match after a completely flat first half. That's football for you. At the end of it all, Portugal claim all three points. That was fun right? Well there could be more fun an hour later as the Brazilians finally play their first match. Do join us over there as we sign off from here. Tatass!!
FIFA World Cup 2022 Live Score: 9 minutes of added time
Some aggressive discussions leads to Inaki Williams getting a cautioning. Portugal had taken off Joao Felix, Ronaldo and Bernardo Silva for Joao Palinha, Joao Maria and Goncalo Ramos.
Portugal vs Ghana Live score: GOAL! Now Ghana make 3-2!
Portugal just made a triple substitution and one of the players they took off was Ronaldo. Cross comes in from the left and Pereira seems to be asleep as Bukari comes in to turn it into the goal. Bukaro goes ahead and does a Ronaldo celebration to boot.
POR vs GHA Live, FIFA World Cup: Ronaldo misses a chance to score a 2nd!
Ghana are everywhere at the moment defensively. Ronaldo is released down the right but he can't find a way past the goalkeeper. The flag is also raised for offside.
FIFA World Cup 2022 Live Score: GOAL! Leao makes it 3-1!
80 mins: Wow, he has been on the field for only a few seconds and he has found the back of the net with a neat finish. Portugal may just have put the game to bed now. Bruno Fernandes with a perfectly weighted through ball down the left, Leao opens up his body and caresses it past the goalkeeper at the fat post.
Portugal vs Ghana Live score: GOAL! Now Felix restores Portugal's lead, 2-1
68 mins: Lovely finish from Joao Felix and Portugal's lead is restored! Three goals in just 13 minutes here. Felix charges into the box and lifts it over the goalkeeper expertly.
POR vs GHA Live, FIFA World Cup: GOAL! Andre Ayew scores the equaliser!
73 mins: Kudus squares it from the right and Ayew turns it into the empty net. What a response this has been from Ghana. Kudus had let out a ripper of a shot from distance just before this and the African side have taken the attaack to the Portgueuese after that Ronaldo goal.
FIFA World Cup 2022 Live Score: Partey shoots wide
68 mins: About three minutes after the restart, Partey takes a shot from distance and that goes over the goal. The Portugal fans have found their voice now.
Portugal vs Ghana Live score: GOAL! HISTORY FOR RONALDO!
65 mins: The Portugal captain becomes the first to score in five different World Cups. Lengthy protests from the Ghana players and when the box is finally cleared, Ronaldo lasers the ball past the goalkeeper.
POR vs GHA Live, FIFA World Cup: PENALTY FOR PORTUGAL!
62 mins: Ronaldo comes together with Salisu and goes down, referee points to the spot immediately. Wonder if VAR will take a look at that. It seems the decision has been upheld, Cristiano Ronaldo stands over the ball. Now then…
FIFA World Cup 2022 Live Score: All heating up
57 mins: An argument between Felix and Seidu. Seidu moves his head towards Felix's, makes contact, and the latter falls down like a sack of stones. Seidu then proceeds to pull him back on his feet and the Portugal players are not happy about it. The referee gives Seidu a talking to and that is the end of that, for now. Seidu is on a yellow card, remember. Some much needed spice in this match.
Portugal vs Ghana Live score: Chance for Ghana!
56 mins: Kudus charges forward and drills a shot from distance. It was a good effort and fizzes just wide of the post.
POR vs GHA Live, FIFA World Cup: 50 mins gone
Ayew booked for a clumsy tackle on Otavio. More of the same thus far in the second half, Portugal hogging possession but unable to do much with it.
FIFA World Cup 2022 Live Score: The players are back
No changes at half time for either side. Lots of gesticulations between the Portugal attackers though, wonder if there has been any change in plans. We will find out soon enough, Ghana kick off the second half.
Portugal vs Ghana Live score: HALF TIME! Portugal 0-0 Ghana
Portugal have done nearly all the attacking but managed just two shots on target. 62 percent of possession for them. Ghana have managed no shots at all. All in all, a rather underwhelming first half really.
POR vs GHA Live, FIFA World Cup: First yellow card of the match
45 mins: Yellow card for a high foot for Mohammad Kudus on Joao Cancelo.
FIFA World Cup 2022 Live Score: Corner for Ghana!
37th min: Would you believe it, Ghana actually have some attack to do! The corner comes to nothing of course, being headed clear by Ronaldo of all people. Who says he doesn't defend?
Portugal vs Ghana Live score: GOAL DISALLOWED FOR RONALDO!
31 min: Ronaldo turns away from Alexander Djiku to get to a pass from Felix and finishes it nicely to find the back of the net but the referee has blown the whistle for a foul. It is against Ronaldo for the contact he made with Djiku while turning away from him. It is a loose one and Ronaldo looks livid, as you would expect him to.
POR vs GHA Live, FIFA World Cup: 28 mins gone
Good work by Ronaldo and Fernandes down the right allows Guerrero to send a cross in and that is headed clear by Amartey. Goalkeepers have had little to nothing to do thus far.
FIFA World Cup 2022 Live Score: 20 mins gone, Portugal 0-0 Ghana
The Ghana fans have brought the party to the stands but neither of the teams have done anything of the sort in the middle. Ghana have been patiently letting Portugal have all the possession they want, Portugal have done practically nothing with it. This game could use some infusion of energy.
Portugal vs Ghana Live score: Even bigger miss now from Ronaldo
13th min: Cross from the left, Ronaldo brings out one of his monster jumps and it looks like this is going to be a clear goal. Only that it isn't, he heads it down to the wrong side of the bar with half of the goal gaping unguarded in front of him. If one forgets all the drama from THAT interview, one would remember that Ronaldo had been in pretty rotten form this season with Manchester United and it was exactly these kinds of chances that he was missing.
POR vs GHA Live, FIFA World Cup: BIG CHANCE FOR RONALDO!
10th min: Fantastic work from Ghana goalkeeper Lawrence Ati-Zigi to thwart the Portugal captain. Ghana lose the ball carelessly just ahead of their final third, Fernandes passes the ball forward to an utterly scot-free Ronaldo. He was not given time for a proper first tuch though as the keeper ran forward and cleared the threat.
FIFA World Cup 2022 Live Score: 5 mins gone, Portugal 0-0 Ghana
Set pieces at both ends that come to nothing. Ghana had got a free kick which was conceded by Ronaldo. Portugal, on the other hand, had won a corner from which Octavio's shot goes wide.
POR vs GHA Live, FIFA World Cup: KICK OFF!
Ronaldo kicks it off in Doha. Portugal in red and green, Ghana in all whites
FIFA World Cup 2022 Live Score: National anthems
Portugal's anthem plays out first, Ronaldo looking like he had tears in his eyes as he sang it before beaming with a smile at the end of it. Then came Ghana's national anthem. The team photographs followed, the coin toss has been done and Portugal will now kick it all off.
Portugal vs Ghana Live score: The players walk out!
Cristiano Ronaldo leads out Portugal, Al Sadd's Andre Ayew, the former West Ham and Swansea striker, has the captain's armband for Ghana.
POR vs GHA Live, FIFA World Cup: What to expect from Ghana
Even the most ardent of fans would say that is a difficult question to answer. Ghana were utterly woeful in the African Cup of Nations in January this year. That led to head coach Milovan Rajevac being shown the door but Otto Addo has since led them to qualification to the World Cup, beating Nigeria in a play-off final.
FIFA World Cup 2022 Live Score: The Ronaldo soap opera
Cristiano Ronaldo's interview with Piers Morgan, which mostly involved Morgan prodding the Portugal captain to make a controversial statement in case he forgot to make one during an answer, dropped just before the national teams gathered together for the trip to Qatar. All of it ended this week with Ronaldo splitting with Manchester United and so, for the first time in his career, he plays this
Portugal vs Ghana Live score: The Williams brothers
If you had watched the match between Spain and Costa Rica, you would remember Nico Williams, the Athletic Bilbao winger who had come on as a second half substitute. His elder brother, Inaki Williams, plays for the same club but not the same national team. The brothers were born to Ghanaian parents and Inaki even got a Spanish national team callup, although that was only a friendly. He was eventually allowed to play for Ghana, which he chose to do just before the 2022 World Cup.
POR vs GHA Live, FIFA World Cup: Ghana line-up
Lawrence Ati-Zigi, Abdul-Rahman Baba, Daniel Amartey, Alexander Djiku, Mohammed Salisu, Alidu Seidu, Thomas Partey, Salis Abdul Samed, Mohammed Kudus, Andre Ayew, Inaki Williams.
FIFA World Cup 2022 Live Score: Portugal line-up
Diogo Costa, Joao Cancelo, Danilo Pereira, Ruben Dias, Raphael Guerreiro, Ruben Neves, Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes, Otavio, Joao Felix, Cristiano Ronaldo.
Portugal vs Ghana Live score: Hello and welcome!
Rarely has a team's buildup to a tournament as big as the World Cup been dominated by the club situation of one of their players but that has been the case for Portugal. However, as their players have said, they know that they have a megastar in their midst in Cristiano Ronaldo and always knew that they would have had to speak about him even if his situation was calm and serene going into this World Cup. So let's get down to the brass tacks, this could be the last time we see Ronaldo in this tournament, although everyone had said the same thing back in 2018 as well, and so this could also be the last chance for him to clinch the World Cup, that one missing piece in his ridiculously shiny trophy cabinet.