Portugal defeated Ghana 3-2 on Thursday at Stadium 974 in a Group H encounter thanks to a goal from Cristiano Ronaldo.
At the beginning of the match, Cristiano Ronaldo had the ball at goal, spurning two opportunistic chances in quick succession, but Portugal was locked in a 0-0 draw with Ghana because they could not make a breakthrough. The 37-year-old captain could have scored twice but missed both opportunities, and his only goal was after the referee blew the whistle on him.
After Cristiano Ronaldo’s well-taken goal was credited to Andre Ayew, Rafael Leao and Joao Felix scored successive strikes for Portugal to put them 3-2 in front. However, Ghana pulled one back to reduce the deficit from one goal to just three. Ronaldo secured his historical milestone of scoring at five FIFA World Cups with a well-taken penalty.
How quickly things change! Andre Ayew put one back for Ghana in stoppage time, but it was all Ronaldo at the end of the game. Ronaldo had two chances to score in the first 25 minutes, only to see them both denied by a terrible officiating mistake. It was announced that Ronaldo would leave Manchester United with “immediate effect.”
Ronaldo’s club form has been poor in recent years, but he still hopes to land a final shot at FIFA World Cup glory. Portugal will start their campaign with victory by the waterfront against Ghana that ranked 61st in FIFA rankings.
What a finish! Portugal came back from the dead to obtain 3 points. Costa had his chance to clinch the game, but Williams managed to steal possession in the end, and they were always on their guard. Sometimes things can go wrong – luckily, Dias and Pereira were alert enough to save Costa’s blushes.
