Cristiano Ronaldo was the star of the show as his record headlines a nervy win for Portugal over the Black Stars of Ghana as five second half goals ensured the penultimate kickoff of the day not without excitement.
Portugal started the game brightly as Ghana adopted the plan to absorb the pressure and play out from the back. The Black Stars successfully execute their plan and were also able to pressure the Portuguese on the break.
Cristiano Ronaldo wasted a promising chance after his first touch let him down and Ghanian Goalkeeper, Ati-Zigi made himself big enough to cover any danger just after ten minutes and couple of minutes later, Ronaldo again rise highest to meet a cross but couldn’t make the right connection.
The Portugal captain had the ball in the back of the net on the half hour mark only for it to be disallowed for a foul on Alexander Djiku even before the former Manchester United man strike the ball into the back of the net.
Five minutes after the hour mark, Cristiano Ronaldo converts from the spot after winning a penalty off Mohammed Salisu. The goal means he becomes the only player in the history of the FIFA World Cup to score in five different and consecutive editions of the tournament.
However, the lead did not last for long as eight minutes later, the opposing captain, André Ayew scored to restore parity for Ghana after Mohammed Kudus did well to find him in the area for a simple tap in, following a poor defending awareness by Ruben Dias.
Portugal retake the lead through Joao Felix following a brilliantly threaded pass by Bruno Fernandes. The Atletico Madrid man takes his time before expertly firing into the back of the net in the 78th minute.
It was meant to be a quick double for Portugal as Rafael Leao scores from another Bruno Fernandes’s assist just three minutes after coming on for Ruben Neves in the 77th minute.
Another substitute but this time for Ghana, Osman Bukari pulled one back for the West African to set up a nervy ending to the clash in Doha.
Ghana nearly grabbed a late equaliser after Diogo Costa dropped the ball for a kick out, unaware of Inaki Williams, who stole possession but them stumble as he tried to turn. Portugal recovered in time and were able to clear the danger.
A winning start secured for Fernando Santos’ side, who go top of the group, two points ahead of Uruguay and Korea Republic following the two’s goalless draw earlier in the afternoon.
Ghana go bottom of their group but will take a lot of positives from their performance and will be looking to take the bull by the horn again, when they play the other two in their remaining group games.
Author: Kehinde Hassan Afolabi
