Portugal vs Ghana summary: Cristiano Ronaldo record, score, goals, highlights 3-2 | Qatar World Cup 2022
Portugal vs Ghana: as it happened
Portugal vs Urugual live on AS.com
If you didn't have enough of Portugal, follow the action of the crucial game against Uruguay live HERE
Iñaki Williams post-match comments:
"I'm proud of the team. Nobody thought we'd be able to get this far and there are two games to go."
"It didn't look like a clear penalty to me. If a player like Cristiano goes down, it's much easier to blow the whistle. But apart from that we made our own errors."
I'm very happy to be here and for my family to see me."
They know, do the Sofascore boys and girls
We all love goals! All the football and all the goals.
He's quite good, isn't he?
Squawka showing Bruno did the knitting together today for Portugal.
And that's all! Breathe!
FT: Portugal 3-2 Ghana
Are you OK? Am I OK? Can someone check on Iñaki?
I supposed we asked for goals, right? What a bonkers second half: Portugal went ahead, Ghana equalised, Portugal went ahead and ahead-er, and then Ghana made our eyes explode with the craziest of finishes!
All in all, Portugal will be happy with the attacking show they presented to us in the second half, and the array of talent on the bench means that a stagnant game like we saw in the first 45 minutes can be changed at the drop of a hat.
João Félix looked lively, so did Cristiano (who became the first male player to score at 5 World Cups), sometimes, and Bruno did well to knit everything together. William Carvalho gave Portugal a good base from which they could launch their attacks, and Rafa Leão is a very dribbly man.
Ghana will be delighted with the fightback after the lacklustre first half and ultimately they will be disappointed with the result. People were low on their expectations before the tournament but today they've shown that they have a lot of heart and will fight until the end.
I NEARLY HAD A HEART ATTACK
Iñaki hid behind the goalkeeper as he put the ball on the floor; the striker ran round him, taking the ball away, but he slipped and the defence recovered!
Into the last minute...
Close from Bukari who nearly becomes a hero with a long-range shot from wide. The ball goes just over.
Ghana are trying, but they can't find the line-breaking pass to get it through to their forward players. Three to go.
Bruno booked for a revenge push.
Free kick for Portugal on the left wing. Bruno brought down. They'll look to take this with a lot of care and slow precision.
It goes straight to a Ghana player.
Ghana changes
OFF: Abdul and Salisu
ON: Kyereh and Semenyo
9 (nine) minutes added.
Iñaki and Pereira booked for a tangle of legs and an angry reaction from both players.
They're shouting very loudly at each other, and I don't think they're saying nice things.
We have goals in Group H! Everybody dance!
GOOOOAAAAAALLLLLL GHANA!!!!
IT IS NOT OVER JUST YET
A long ball down the left is swung in towards substitute Bukari, who jumps highest to send the ball past Costa.
Portugal make three subs
OFF: Bernardo, João, Ronaldo
ON: J Mrio, J Palhinha, Gonçalo Ramos
A host of changes being prepared for Portugal.
It feels like I've just banged my head against a wall. Two goals in two minutes have killed this Ghana side as well as my ability to type.
A huge chance for Ronaldo!
Ghana need to be careful or this could get ugly.
Huge spaces have appeared behind their defence and Ronaldo finds himself through on goal, but his chip is well saved by Zigi.
OH MY ANOTHER PORTUGAL GOAL
Rafa Leao!
Another loss of possession for Ghana as Joao recovers the ball and gives it to Bruno, who immediately springs a counter. He runs and runs and runs down the middle before sliding it to Rafa Leao. The AC Milan winger cooly places the ball into the far corner and it might be game over for Ghana.
Out of nowhere!! João breaks away down the right after a long pass from Bruno. It was Partey who lost the ball in the middle of the pitch.
The Atlético man clips it over Zigi and Portugal retake the lead!
GOOOOOOOOOOOAAAALLLLLLL JOOAAOO FELIX!!
Changes for Ghana
OFF: Kudus (I'm shocked) and Andre Ayew
ON: Jordan Ayew and Bukari
The drums and trombones are pumping in the stadium!
GOOOOOAAAALLLL GHAAANAAAA!!!
Mohammed 'Magic man' Kudus gets away down the left and pokes a cross through the legs of Portugal defender, Pereira.
Andre Ayew is the quickest to react to the bobbling ball and stabs it in the back of the net.
The stadium erupts and the party is back on!
KUDUS GOES CLOSE!
He smacks a long-range shot into the hands of Costa.
Salisu with some great recovery work after Ronaldo looked to get in behind again. He's had his half-time oranges, has the Portuguese.
Some possession for the Black Stars as they realise the impetus has now got to come from them.
They fail to keep it for long, however, and poor Iñaki goes back to chasing the defenders.
Change for Ghana
OFF: Seidu
ON: Lamptey
Back underway, and Ghana have it all to do now. Time for them to get busy.
If anyone wants my opinion, that looked like an incredibly close call.
Ronaldo won't mind.
GOOOOOOAAAALLLLLL RONALDOOOO!!!
Whacks the penalty away perfectly. Deadlock broken!
Well, it looks like it'll be taken... Ronaldo steps up...
PENALTY TO PORTUGAL
Salisu brings down Ronaldo in the box after the striker is put through on goal. It looked incredibly light.
Ghana with more of the ball, and are making Portugal run (not Ronaldo). The second half hasn't settled down quite in the same way as the first half did, which is to everyone's benefit.
Portugal substitute
OFF: Otávio
ON: W. Carvalho
Seidu booked. It looked like he moved his head towards João Félix, causing him to fall over.
The handbags are out here, and João is on the floor, holding his face.
CLOSE FROM GHANA!
Partey originally loses the ball in the middle, and Ronaldo runs onto a through-pass but dilly-dallies for too long and Ghana recover it.
They quickly launch a counter-attack and Kudus drives with the ball as the Portuguese defence scrambles back. He decides to shoot, from quite a distance, but slides it wide. Definitely the best chance the Black Stars have had all game.
Salisu jumps, misses the ball, and it lands at Seidu's feet. He hits a shot that goes wide.
Ok, ok, maybe we have a bit more of a game. A couple of attacks now for Ghana down Portugal's right, and Kudus hits a cross that goes out for a corner.
Right-back Seidu sends a ball in from the right but it flies over everyone's head and lands with Baba, the left-back, on the other side of the pitch. A lovely pass, but not what he wanted to do.
Cheers from the crows as Andre Ayew makes a run down the left channel, but he's offside.
Ghana have a plan, they just aren't very good at doing it.
William Carvalho is being prepared to come on.
Portugal immediately push Ghana back into a low-block as they sweep the ball from left to right, looking for a way in. Ghana giving nothing away; if they maintain the levels of concentration we saw in the first half, it will be a huge achievement.
Peep! Ghana kick us off from left to right.
No changes so far.
The players are back out, hopefully with lots of goals in their feet and toes.
Here we go!
Ouch! Sofascore are not holding back here...
These are are the HT ratings from the lovely lads at Sofascore: Ronaldo with 6.0 is the worst on the pitch. Eek.
Opta showing Ghana's struggles
Yep, the eye-test confirms what we suspected: Ghana have done a whole lot of nothing so far.
That's all for now!
HT: Portugal 0-0 Ghana
Group H is shaping up to be a classic. No goals in Uruguay vs South Korea and it's looking very similar in this fixture. Ronaldo came closest with a one-on-one but a good save from Zigi kept it out. Apart from that, we've not seen many clear chances.
On the ball, Portugal have tried everything: they've copied Spain and tired to tiki-taka their way through; they've copied Sean Dyche and long-balled their way in; they've copied David Moyes and launched cross after cross into the box. Nothing has worked.
Ghana will be happy with how well they've defended against such attacking talent, but they'll want to use Iñaki Williams' pace and try to find spaces behind the Portugal defence, which will be there behind Dias and Pereira. Let's see how the second half pans out.
Zigi takes a long time with a goal kick and we've only got a few seconds left of the half...
2 added on. Is that a tournament low?
Yellow for Kudus after a kick on Bernardo. Naughty boy.
João Félix puts his hands over his face as Cancelo's low cross zooms past everyone after some ping-pong passing on the edge of the box. Ghanaian fans dancing in the stands as the clock ticks on.
Bruno plays Ronaldo through down the left but the ex-Manchester United man takes too long beforeshooting and the chance fizzes out.
Raphael gets on the end of the ball as it's lofted back into the box but it gets caught under Ronaldo's feet before being cleared again.
Portugal resorting to putting more and more crosses into the box - not a bad idea given their aerial threat - but definitely a sign of the frustration.
First corner for Ghana in the 37th minute... Kudus to take.
Cleared by Neves and the rebound is headed out by Bruno.
Another corner for the Black Stars. They know these set pieces are their main chance of scoring. Cristiano heads away this time.
A lovely 270º turn from Otávio, who chips a cross towards Ronaldo, but it's cleared.
Ghana with 0 shots as it stands; Portugal with 5 (only Cristiano's one-on-one on target).
Ronaldo fouled and the free-kick will be whipped in by Bruno.
Cristiano is inside the box holding up his finger to Bruno, like a number one. Maybe he wants to score one goal.
The free-kick is cleared. No 'one' for Ronaldo just yet.
THE BALL IS IN THE NET. RULED OUT.
Ronaldo slips the ball in behind Zigi from the left of the box but it is ruled out for a foul in the build-up.
A quick counter from Portugal after Ghana try an attack and an angry Bruno is brought down (not like him to complain). Long free kick to be swung in by Bernardo.
Half chance from the lovely João, who slices a shot miles over the bar after Bernardo Silva set him up with a lovely cut-back from the left channel onto the edge of the box.
A fantastically acrobatic header away from Amartey there after a Raphael cross from the left.
As close as anyone's got for the last 15 minutes.
João Félix, as well as having lovely hair, seems to possess a buzz of electricity every time he touches the ball. He's been the one player who has looked like potentially making something happen.
That was close. Kudus latched onto a loose ball in the middle of the pitch and tried to feed Iñaki through the lines but his pass was too short. A lucky one for Portugal, as he'd have been away.
Ghana push Portugal all the way back to the goalkeeper, to a huge cheer from the crowd. A few disgruntled faces among those in red shirts so far.
Neves finds Cancelo with a lovely switch of play, but the ball can't get any further than the start of Ghana's defence. So far, they're holding the Portuguese out well.
'Unnecessary skill from Ronaldo' on the bingo, anyone?
Iñaki gets a touch! Baba sends a ball down the left channel but the striker doesn't have his extendo-legs on and can't quite get a full foot on the ball. That's more like it.
Something of a mini-counter-attack from Ghana, who get to about halfway before it breaks down. The ball is white, Iñaki, just in case you forget.
Portugal with a bit of tiki-taka on the edge of the box before slipping in João down the left. Lovely stuff.
Ronaldo gets on the header from the subsequent corner but heads it wide.
HUGE CHANCE FOR CRISTIANO
The ball is played through the lines and Ronaldo makes a run through a gap in the defence. Zigi is very quick to come off his line and spreads himself out well to stop the striker getting a strong touch on the ball. Close.
Ghana haven't had any real possession as of yet as they've struggled so far to keep the ball. I don't know if poor Iñaki even knows what colour it is.
João Félix tries a mazy run from deep with the ball and he makes it all the way to the box. Fortunately, Amartey is there to sweep the ball away. Danger signs for Ghana.
First shot of the game, from Otávio. The corner was headed out and he tried his luck from the edge of the box. Goal kick to the Black Stars.
Portugal struggling to get the ball into the midfielders so far, as Ghana are holding their shape really well.
As I say that, Pereira gets bored and goes for a long ball over to the top, but it's out for a corner.
Wow, huge cheers for Ronaldo as he gets his first touch. Clearly a popular man, it's not just Piers Morgan who likes him.
Ghana looking to press Portugal right away; Iñaki and Ayew are up top with Kudus right behind them.
Calm possession so far for the European side, feeling their way into this.
Here we go!
Portugal in red shorts, green shorts and red socks; Ghana in all white. I think it's my favourite shirt at the World Cup.
Ronaldo will kick us off from left to right.
Here we go! The players are on the pitch - national anthem time!
Portugal first: A bit slow for my liking, but a solid pass from the players for the singing. Better than England's ventriloquist dummies.
Ghana: Lots of serious faces. A nice tune and they'll always get points for such a colourful flag, but Portugal take the early lead today.
Ten to go!
The players are inside the changing rooms for the last time before kick-off - we're nearly ready to go!
Here is how the Black Stars start the match
Iñaki Williams starts for Ghana in a very exciting starting XI. I know the hype has been on a lull recently regarding Ghana's prospects, but that line-up is a big bag of football fun.
Portugal line-up
Here's how the Seleção line up today... João Félix (Atlético Madrid) starts alongside Cristiano Ronaldo (no club).
Hello, hello! Welcome to the live feed of Portugal vs Ghana in the second game of Group H. It's Joe here and I'll be talking you through all the action at Stadium 974, the venue of the mega-exciting Mexico 0-0 Poland on Tuesday - surely the goals are coming, right?
To be honest, I think Spain ate up all the goals last night, as we’ve had Switzerland 1-0 Cameroon earlier, as well as Uruguay 0-0, so let’s hope we don’t continue the trend of the day.