Veteran striker Cristiano Ronaldo created history by becoming the first male footballer to score at five different World Cups as Portugal edged Ghana 3-2 in their World Cup opener.
The first half was goalless, with Ghana not even registering a single shot on target. All five goals came after the interval, the first of which came from the penalty spot by Ronaldo.
Andre Ayew equalised for Ghana but some poor defending from Baba Rahman allowed Joao Felix to restore the Seleccao’s lead, and substitute Rafael Leao made it 3-1 soon afterwards.
With the game seemingly done and dusted, Portugal took Ronaldo, Felix and Bernardo Silva off the pitch, but there was late drama. Another piece of poor defending, this time from Fernando Santos’ men, allowed Bukhari to pull one back for the Black Stars.
A stoppage time goalkeeping howler from Diogo Costa almost allowed Ghana to snatch another, but Portugal held on to claim a narrow win.
The other group game between Uruguay and Korea on the day ended in a goalless stalemate- the fourth of the tournament so far. Portugal will now take on Uruguay at the Lusail Stadium on Monday, while Korea will square off against the Black stars in Al Rayyan.
