Two days after parting ties with Manchester United, Cristiano Ronaldo made World Cup history when Portugal defeated Ghana 3-2 in their opening match in Qatar.
Ronaldo, a free agent following his contentious split from Old Trafford, scored Portugal’s opening goal from the penalty spot to become the first player to score in five World Cup final matches.
Andre Ayew’s equalizer appeared to put an end to Portugal’s celebration for a moment, but a swift double from Joao Felix and replacement Rafael Leao gave them a two-goal lead.
Osman Bukari cut it in half with a header in the 89th minute, but Portugal held on for nine minutes of added time to take the lead in Group H, where Uruguay and South Korea earlier drew 0-0.
Portugal unleashed
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In the 10th minute, the former Manchester United number seven was the first to get the crowd cheering when he raced onto a pass from Otavio after Mohammed Kudus was fouled while in possession.
Ronaldo was unable to stop the ball from escaping him, and goalie Lawrence Ati outran him in a 50/50 foot race.
The game was rough despite the 2016 European winners controlling possession and pressing Ghana high up the field anytime the ball was lost. There were few opportunities, and Atletico Madrid winger Felix encapsulated the lack of quality in the 28th minute when he leaned back and hoisted a left-foot attempt well over the goal.
After 30 minutes, Ronaldo had the ball in the net, but the goal was ruled out for a shove on Alexander Djiku of Ghana.
As the half came to a close, Otavio’s shot was off-target after Joao Cancelo noticed his run from left to right across the box. Portugal continued to dominate the game in terms of territory.
Kudus surged through from deep, evaded Ruben Neves, and fired a low left-foot drive just short of Diogo Costa’s goal to give Ghana life after a sluggish second quarter.
However, Baba Rahman allowed Portugal to regain the lead as Felix went on goal and clipped the ball past Ati after Bruno Fernandes’ through ball reached him.
When Fernandes again charged forward from deep, this time finding substitute Leao to his left, who rolled an angled shot home, the match appeared to be over.