Doha: Cristiano Ronaldo drew a line in the build-up to a tumultuous tournament when he became the first player to score five World Cup goals in Portugal’s 3-2 victory over Ghana on Thursday.
Ronaldo drilled home a penalty in the 65th minute of the Group H clash and while Andre Ayew equalized for Ghana, Portugal grabbed two quick wins to effectively seal the deal at the Stadium 974. Turned on the afterburners by scoring.
Joao Felix produced a delicate piece to give them the lead and Rafael Leao added a third to give Portugal their first win in a World Cup opener since 2006, even if Usman Bukhari scored for Ghana. Pulled another one back late on.
The win was not the most satisfying for Portugal, and will bring some relief to Fernando Santos’ side, who top the group with three points and face Uruguay next on Monday, when Ghana take on South Korea. .
The bitter end to Ronaldo’s second spell at Manchester United dominated the build-up to the match just as the forward seems to dominate Portugal’s style of play.
Against Ghana, Ronaldo seemed to use gravity in knots on the ball, with teammates finding him out at every opportunity.
For the greater part of the match, everything revolved around Ronaldo, who lurked menacingly on the edge of the Ghanaian box, and nearly all of his side’s attacking moves ended at his feet.
He had two early chances, a one-on-one when a heavy touch brought him down, and a header where he usually hovered in the air before glancing his effort wide.
He then poked the ball into the back of the net after 31 minutes only to realize the referee had already whistled him for a foul.
For Ghana, the youngest team at the World Cup, their ambitions rarely got past the halfway point as the lowest-ranked team in the tournament kept almost everyone behind the ball in the first half. Is.
Much of the action condensed into a relatively short period after Portugal took the lead in the 60th minute when Ronaldo was awarded a soft penalty after a minimal shoulder-to-shoulder challenge with Mohamed Salisso.
Ronaldo closed his eyes as he waited to begin his run-up, stuttered and slotted the ball into the net to the keeper’s right.
The entire Portugal team raced to the touchline to pile on top of Ronaldo, who surpassed Pele, Uwe Celar and Miroslav Klose as the only male players to find the back of the net at five separate World Cups.
Ghana quickly hit back though when Mohamed Quddus’ cross was met by Eve who tapped home.
Portugal, however, followed that up with Felix latching on to Bruno Fernandes’ through ball and lifting his finish neutrally over the keeper.
Fernandes was also the architect of their third goal, playing another superb through ball for substitute Leo to slide his finish past the keeper and into the bottom corner.
There was tension at the end, however, when Ghana pulled another goal back with Usman Bukhari, seemingly unmarked in the box, heading in a cross from the left in the 89th minute, with the Ghanaian fans behind the goal. got a wave of hope.
