Cristiano Ronaldo breaks another record as he became the first player in history to score in five World Cups during Portugal’s exciting 3-2 victory over Ghana on Thursday evening at FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar.
The 61st-minute penalty of the 37-year-old put Fernando Santos’ team ahead in the Group H clash at Stadium 974 in Doha, with the star striker eager to display his talents to possible new clubs after an acrimonious divorce with English club Manchester United last week.
Ayew’s goal was the first by an African team in this year’s tournament, and it was joyfully welcomed by the Black Stars’ noisy fans, who had watched their team fail to put a single shot in the first half.
Unfortunately for them, the joyous scenes seemed to spur Portugal into accelerating, with Joao Felix and Rafael Leao scoring again in the next seven minutes to make it 3-1 at the 80-minute mark.
Any thoughts of a smooth march to victory were dashed in the 89th minute when Osman Bukari converted to make it 3-2.
A tense nine minutes of extra time ensued, which ended with Portugal defender Danilo clearing the ball away from near his side’s line after goalkeeper Diogo Costa’s blunder allowed Ghana to snatch a thrilling equalizer.
It capped a frantic end to what had been a slow-burner of a match for the opening 60 minutes, but Portugal’s ability to cling on and take all three points put them atop Group H following Uruguay and South Korea’s scoreless stalemate earlier on Thursday.
READ MORE: Gracenote calls Argentina’s 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia greatest World Cup upset
Portuguese fans were thrilled to see their team start the tournament with a win, even if several parts of their team’s play left much to be desired.
