Ronaldo starts: Portugal vs Ghana LIVE score, FIFA World Cup; kickoff at 9:30PM IST

Welcome to Sportstar’s dwell protection of the Portugal vs Ghana FIFA World Cup Group H sport. This is Nihit Sachdeva taking you thru the motion because it unfolds at Stadium 974 in Doha, Qatar.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s fifth World Cup marketing campaign begins in precisely half an hour!

Ghana returns to World Cup after eight years – It can be its fourth look on the showpiece occasion however for the primary time, the Black Stars will play with out Asamoah Gyan, the scorer of six of its 13 World Cup targets.

Welcome again to World Cup soccer, Ghana followers!

Ronaldo begins!

Records on provide for Cristiano Ronaldo

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  He may turn into the first-ever participant to attain at 5 World Cups
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  He may additionally grew to become the second-oldest aim scorer at World Cup on the age of 37 years

Form Guide: Portugal – WLWLW, Ghana – LWLWW

Calm earlier than the storm – Stadium 974, venue of the match.

PREVIEW (through Reuters)

Portugal can be eager to let its soccer do the speaking when it faces Ghana in its World Cup opener on Thursday amid controversy over Cristiano Ronaldo’s feedback about Manchester United and tensions between the squad and the media.

Euro 2016 champion Portugal hammered Nigeria 4-0 in its final warm-up match earlier than flying to Qatar, providing some encouragement to its followers after a poor run of type.

But Ghana – which reached the World Cup quarterfinals in 2010 – arrived on the Arabian Peninsula with wind in its sails too after beating Switzerland 2-0 in a pleasant.

The match on the 974 Stadium in Doha provides the perimeters the possibility to put down an early marker in Group H, which additionally contains Uruguay and South Korea.

Portugal coach Fernando Santos has come beneath stress from native media and followers following latest disappointments – together with a last-16 Euros exit final yr.

There can also be discuss of rigidity within the squad and worries amongst followers that the crew is simply too targeted on serving captain Ronaldo, who at 37 is previous his prime.

“The environment in the changing room is excellent. No problems,” five-times Ballon D’Or winner Ronaldo stated on Monday. “The group is shielded. And I take this opportunity to say: stop asking about me.” But the probabilities of Ronaldo stepping out of the highlight look slim within the wake of an explosive TV interview wherein he stated he had been betrayed by Manchester United, prompting hypothesis that he’ll quickly go away the membership.

He led Portugal to triumph at Euro 2016 however World Cup glory has eluded him and Qatar represents his final probability.

Some followers say the time has already come for Ronaldo to step apart and let expertise akin to fellow Manchester United gamers Bruno Fernandes and Diogo Dalot and Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva, Ruben Dias and Joao Cancelo take centre stage.

Lining up towards them for Ghana are more likely to be Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey, Leicester City defender Daniel Amartey and Athletic Bilbao striker Inaki Williams.

Coach Otto Addo, Ghana’s third supervisor in 12 months, has sought to rebuild the crew after a disastrous exhibiting on the Cup of Nations in early 2022, bringing in additional European-born gamers akin to Brighton & Hove Albion wingback Tariq Lamptey.

But his plans suffered a setback when each of his main goalkeepers suffered accidents, that means third-choice Lawrence Ati-Zigi, who performs at St Gallen in Switzerland, can be entrusted to maintain out Ronaldo and his colleagues on Thursday.

The groups met on the 2014 World Cup in Brazil when Portugal gained 2-1 due to a late winner by Ronaldo.

WHEN AND WHERE TO WATCH