Portugal started the World Cup with a hard-fought victory. Thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo, who converted and used a penalty kick, and the excellently fitting Bruno Fernandes, Ghana was put 3-2 over the knee. Fernandes delivered two fine assists in the final phase, when the African team had just leveled through Andre Ayew, giving the Portuguese a very welcome victory. Osman Bukari’s late goal did not yield any results for the brave Ghana.
The most talked about player of recent weeks was kicked off for Portugal. Ronaldo, who had to miss his country’s last friendly match against Nigeria (4-0 victory for the Portuguese) due to stomach problems, was at the point of the attack and was supported in the back by top players such as Bruno Fernandes and Bernardo Silva. On the Ghanaian side, Ajax player Mohammed Kudus was assigned a basic place. As an attacking midfielder, he stood in the back of Ayew and Iñaki Williams, the two Africans’ forwards.
While Ronaldo was already the footballer who generated the most attention in the run-up to the World Cup, he did so just before the match against Ghana and during the first half of that game. The attacker, who decided this week in consultation with Manchester United to leave immediately at the club of coach Erik ten Hag, was unable to contain his emotions during the national anthem and was the one who had the greatest opportunities in the first half. However, one-on-one with Lawrence Ati Zigi, the goalkeeper of Ghana, Ronaldo was trumped by the goalie. Moments later, he headed wide.
The Ghanaians, where Kudus left a somewhat wild impression in the first company, however, remained relatively easy in the match and took the break with glasses. Shortly after the break, the Ajax player immediately showed himself with a dangerous shot, which just brushed past the far post of Diogo Costa’s goal. The Portuguese therefore got away well, just like when referee Ismail Elfath awarded a penalty after more than an hour to A Selecao. Ronaldo’s dive was flashy, but remarkably enough both referee and VAR saw no reason to withdraw the penalty. CR7 unwrapped the present itself: 1-0.
Ronaldo uses the penalty kick he decorated himself to score for the fifth consecutive World Cup. Watch live: https://t.co/u5oKbZg43P#wk2022 #porgha pic.twitter.com/9oq66xAB29
— NOS Football (@NOSfootball) November 24, 2022
With that, the star player of Portugal scored a goal for the fifth World Cup in a row and no player succeeded for him. That put a big smile on Ronaldo’s face, but less than ten minutes later it disappeared like snow in the sun. After a fine action on the left by Kudus, Ayew was able to tap in from close range (1-1) and the Portuguese were able to start all over again. However, they did not allow themselves to be told twice. The Ghanaian goal against led to a revival of the team of national coach Fernando Santos and the game was decided within three minutes.
First it was João Félix who was sent off by Fernandes and finished expertly (2-1), after which substitute Rafael Leão repeated that trick a little later. He too was sent off by Fernandes and knocked the Ghanaian keeper into the far corner to make it 3-1 and dash the African hopes with just under ten minutes remaining. Bukari’s late 3-2, who headed in a cross from the left, made it very exciting. Deep in injury time, after a bounce from goalkeeper Diogo Costa, it almost became equal, but again the Portuguese had all the luck in the world and it remained at 3-2.