Rafael Leao’s 80th minute finish lifted Portugal to a nervy but well deserved win over an inspired Ghana side.
The first half left much to be desired, as both sides created half chances while erring on the side of caution. Portugal held up to over 70% percent of the possession within the half, but failed to make Ghana worry too much as the Black Stars seemed happy to sit back and absorb what the initially timid Portuguese had to offer.
Fresh off the not-so-surprising news of a “mutual” agreement to terminate his contract with Manchester United, Cristiano Ronaldo found himself in the center of the few chances Portugal had in the first half, even finding the back of the net despite being called back for a foul in the build up.
The second half was one for the record books, literally. Ronaldo opened the scoring less than twenty minutes into the second period after winning a fortunate and unchecked penalty, burying it to score in a record fifth men’s World Cup. To sweeten the deal, the cameras were eager to capture the Portugal legend celebrating in front of a banner dedicated to his generational rival Lionel Messi, just days after the PSG forward and his compatriots were stunned by Saudi Arabia.
The timing of this Ronaldo celebration 😆 pic.twitter.com/I5NaLBO7kc
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) November 24, 2022
The Portuguese festivities were short lived, however, as eight minutes later Mohammed Kudus fought off Rueben Dias to set up star front man André Ayew for a tap-in equalizer. This back and forth set an unmissable tone for the rest of the match that provided an unforgettable experience for its audience.
Mere seconds after the Ghanian goal scorer was replaced for his brother Jordan, Joao Félix pounced on one of the several quality through balls Bruno Fernandes produced in the second half and placed a delicate chip over Lawrence Ati-Zigi to restore the lead for Fernando Santos’s men.
Portugal seemed set to make it a rout when Milan standout Rafael Leão lifted the score to 3-1 with a curling first time finish three minutes later, capping off the peak of their brief momentum.
Ghana refused to let that continue, and set up a finish for all to pay close attention to when Abdul Rahman Baba got the best of Joao Cancelo, where Ghana found the most of its success, and found Osman Bukari on the far post to make it 3-2, giving a Selecão plenty to think about within the seven minutes of extra time. (Not to mention, Bakari used a rather familiar celebration that seemed to ruffle a certain someone’s feathers.)
Osman Bukari doing the Ronaldo celebration after scoring vs Portugal. pic.twitter.com/yui1m1ZB86
— tinho8 (@boetinho9) November 24, 2022
Portugal held on to take all three points in their opening match, despite Diogo Costa nearly gifting Ghana the ultimate equalizer with a faux pas that went unpunished thanks to the lack of integrity within Iñaki Williams’ studs.
The results set up some eagerly awaited ties between Portugal x Uruguay and Ghana x South Korea, living up to its standard as one of the more exciting groups of the tournament.
