Cristiano Ronaldo became the first men’s player to score in five World Cups, but goals from João Felíx and Rafael Leão were decisive for Portugal.
It was already an eventful World Cup for Cristiano Ronaldo before the Portugal star even set foot on the field, but now it’s a historic one.
Days after having his contract with Manchester United terminated, Ronaldo turned his focus to playing in his fifth World Cup, and in his first match, Thursday vs. Ghana, he became the first men’s player to score in five World Cups. He broke a deadlock with a penalty midway through the second half that opened the floodgates on arguably the wildest match to date in Qatar, a 3–2 Portugal win. Ronaldo has eight World Cup goals in all—all in the group stage—across the 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018 and now 2022 editions of the competition.
His go-ahead strike didn’t seal the deal, though, with Ghana pulling level eight minutes later through André Ayew—that is, until young attackers João Felíx and Rafael Leão struck to seize control and stake Portugal out to a 3–1 lead. Osman Bukari made it interesting late, pulling one back in the 88th minute to make it 3–2—and trolling Ronaldo with his on SIUUU celebration, despite still being down a goal—forcing Portugal to sweat out the victory.
Despite his lack of club activity leading into the World Cup, Ronaldo was given the start by Fernando Santos, and while he wore out his Manchester United welcome, the Portuguese faithful are still very much in his corner.
The opening few minutes were played in the middle third of the field until a surge down the Portuguese left yielded a corner for the European side. Ghana cleared, though, not allowing Ronaldo to get anywhere near the service and staving off the opportunity.
Ronaldo came close in the 10th minute. After a Ghana turnover, Portugal turned it into an instant opportunity, with Ronaldo played down the center. His first touch let him down, though, allowing Ghana goalkeeper Lawrence Ati-Zigi to come off the line and claim the ball.
Two minutes later, Ronaldo had another close call. Raphaël Guerreiro served in a cross to the far post, and Ronaldo jumped high to meet it, only to have it glance harmlessly off his forehead.
When Ronaldo did put the ball in the back of the net, it was chalked off, with the referee blowing for a foul on Ronaldo as he pushed off on a Ghanaian defender before spinning and beating Ati-Zigi in the 31st minute.
Ghana got a stronger foothold in the match coming out of the halftime break, but a counterattack 10 minutes into the second half sprung Portugal to life. The ball found its way to Ronaldo, striding down the left-hand side, but after multiple stepovers, his cross was deflected and then ultimately cleared.
That actually started a Ghana counter the other way, and Mohammed Kudus wound up with the Black Stars’ best chance of the game to that point, whipping a low shot from long range just to the right of Diogo Costa’s goal.
The match took a decisive and historic turn in the 63rd minute, when Portugal was given a penalty after Ronaldo was taken down in the box on a shoulder-to-shoulder challenge by Mohamed Salisu. The call appeared to be a bit soft but held up, and Ronaldo converted the spot kick to give Portugal the 1-0 lead and mark his milestone.
Ghana did not let that lead last, though. Moments after Kudus had a blistering shot sting Costa’s palms, he turned into the provider for the equalizer, crossing for Ayew at the goalmouth, where the veteran forward tapped in to make it 1-1 in the 73rd minute.
Portugal answered five minutes later with yet another go-ahead strike, with João Felíx being played down the right-hand side and finishing deftly to restore the one-goal lead.
Moments after that, Leão, who was an impact sub, scored on a Portuguese counterattack, providing some breathing room and all but securing the three points.
Ghana didn’t go without a fight, however. As the second half veered toward stoppage time, Osman Bukari scored to pull the Black Stars back within one at 3-2.
The win wasn’t secured without a final scare, however, with Costa unknowingly rolling the ball forward and putting it in play while Ghana’s Iñaki Williams lurked behind him, hoping to pounce and score the equalizer.
It never materialized after Williams slipped, however, and Portugal held on to rise to first in the Group H table. South Korea and Uruguay, who tied 0–0 earlier in the day, are tied for second, while Ghana pulls up the rear despite a spirited second-half effort.
Here were the lineups for both sides:
Full World Cup Squads
Portugal
GOALKEEPERS: Diogo Costa (FC Porto), Rui Patrício (AS Roma), José Sá (Wolverhampton Wanderers)
DEFENDERS: João Cancelo (Manchester City), Rúben Dias (Manchester City), Diogo Dalot (Manchester United), Raphael Guerreiro (Borussia Dortmund), Nuno Mendes (PSG), Pepe (Porto), Danilo Pereira (PSG), António Silva (Benfica),
MIDFIELDERS: William Carvalho (Real Betis), Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United), João Mário (Benfica), Otávio Monteiro (Porto), Rúben Neves (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Matheus Nunes (Wolverhampton Wanderers), João Palhinha (Fulham), , Bernardo Silva (Manchester City), Vitinha (PSG)
FORWARDS: João Félix (Atlético Madrid), Ricardo Horta (Braga), Rafael Leão (AC Milan), Gonçalo Ramos (Benfica), Cristiano Ronaldo (Unattached), André Silva (RB Leipzig)
COACH: Fernando Santos
Ghana
GOALKEEPERS: Lawrence Ati-Zigi (St. Gallen), Ibrahim Danlad (Asante Kotoko), Abdul Manaf Nurudeen (Eupen)
DEFENDERS: Joseph Aidoo (Celta Vigo), Daniel Amartey (Leicester), Abdul-Rahman Baba (Reading), Alexander Djiku (Strasbourg), Tariq Lamptey (Brighton), Gideon Mensah (Bordeaux), Denis Odoi (Club Brugge), Mohammed Salisu (Southampton), Alidu Seidu (Clermont)
MIDFIELDERS: André Ayew (Al Saad), Daniel Afriyie Barnieh (Hearts of Oak), Mohammed Kudus (Ajax), Daniel-Kofi Kyereh (St Pauli), Elisha Owusu (Gent), Thomas Partey (Arsenal), Salis Abdul Samed (Lens)
FORWARDS: Jordan Ayew (Crystal Palace), Osman Bukari (Red Star Belgrade), Abdul Fatawu Issahaku (Sporting CP), Antoine Semenyo (Bristol City), Kamal Sowah (Club Brugge), Kamaldeen Sulemana (Rennes), Inaki Williams (Athletic Bilbao)
COACH: Otto Addo