Portugal vs Ghana FIFA World Cup Live Score 24/11/2022

Portugal vs Ghana FIFA World Cup Live Score 24/11/2022

The European nation with a squad full of stars are heavy favorites to get off to a winning start in their opening game of the World Cup Portugal and Ghana will square off as a part of the World Cup Group H stage on Nov. 24 in Doha. Fernando Santos will be looking to lead the 2016 European champions to victory in his first World Cup appearance, in what will likely be Cristiano Ronaldo’s last go-around in the tournament. Meanwhile, Ghana will be looking to play spoiler as former World Cup quarter-finalists, after failing to qualify for the 2018 game in Russia. Let’s take a look at current betting odds to find best bets and props for this Group H showdown between Portugal and the Black Stars. Portugal seem to be on the cusp of breaking through after winning Euro 2016 and the 2018/19 UEFA Nations League.

Portugal have announced their FIFA World Cup 2022 Qatar squad. Cristiano Ronaldo will be the captain (likely) leading his country. It will be his fifth FIFA World Cup playing for Portugal. It can well be the Portuguese icon’s last FIFA World Cup given the age factor coming into play in his playing style. Similarly, veteran defender Pepe is also likely to play his last World Cup for Portugal in Qatar 2022. Cristiano Ronaldo and co will begin their World Cup campaign of Group H on November 24. They will Ghana in their opener of the FIFA World Cup 2022 Qatar. (Germany squad for FIFA World Cup 2022 Qatar)

Cristiano Ronaldo alongside his two Manchester United teammates Bruno Fernandes and Diogo Dalot has been called up from the Red Devils squad whereas numerous EPL footballers like Cancelo (Man City), Ruben Neves (Wolves) have also made the cut. Shockingly, Liverpool’s Diogo Jota is missing from the squad and Portugal are yet to address a reason for that. Jota’s recent struggle with injuries and fitness could well be the reason of him missing out on the major tournament. (France squad for FIFA World Cup 2022 Qatar)

Portugal have a juggernaut starting eleven consisting of Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva, João Cancelo, Diogo Jota, and João Félix. It is a very intimidating roster that has a significant edge in talent over the Black Stars. Ghana will need to avoid conceding an early goal in hopes of landing a counter attack to stay in this match. Unfortunately, even with Thomas Partey (Arsenal), Mohammed Kudus (Ajax), and André Ayew, that is easier said than done. Portugal and Ghana have only squared off one time, back in the 2014 group stages, when the European nation won 2-1 on a Ronaldo match-winner. I expect to see a similar score during their clash this time around. “Nothing to see here” was the Portugal mantra as the Euro 2016 champions edged their way to within 180 minutes of direct qualification — a 2-2 draw in Serbia tucked tidily under their belt.

Then, a road bump. A 0-0 draw against Republic of Ireland in Dublin left Portugal needing to beat Serbia at Estadio Da Luz but, leading from the second minute, they fluffed their lines and lost in the 90th minute to finish second in the group. Frustrating, but the beginning of some notable spirit. Beating Turkey 3-1 in Porto in the playoff semifinal was heart-stopping — Burak Yilmaz missed a late penalty to make it 2-2 — but taking Italy’s conquerors North Macedonia to the same stadium five days later for the final was a walk in the park as Bruno Fernandes scored twice to send Portugal to Qatar. In qualifying it was arguably Diogo Jota as he had a far better goal-per-minute ratio than Cristiano Ronaldo, more assists, a big goal in the playoff semifinal (plus one of those assists in the final) … but he’s not fit to make it to Qatar.

Can it be goalkeeper Diogo Costa? One of three keepers used in qualifying, the 23-year-old Porto player has a penchant for saving penalties and now looks to have made himself No. 1. Or, let’s face it, is it still Ronaldo? Troubled at club level with Manchester United, but the 37-year-old was born to compete when the curtain raises. The Fernando Santos factor. Having won Portugal their first major international trophy at Euro 2016, he is lucky enough that there are high quality players bursting through in every position, so he should really be presiding over a golden era. Instead he has been castigated for a poor Euro 2020 and failed to qualify for the Nations League final four, despite only requiring a draw in their last qualifying match at home to Spain. On the positive side, Santos knows how to win a tournament.

On the negative are the growing, but unconfirmed, reports that his players feel mutinous about the team’s lack of flair, daring and “front-foot” attitude. Why wouldn’t midfielder Bernardo Silva be in the team of the tournament come the end of the World Cup? Or centre-back Ruben Dias? Some will say Ronaldo, of course, because there’s few who have been a bigger star anywhere in the world over the last 20 years. But AC Milan forward Rafael Leao has the capability of surprising everyone.Not only do Portugal need to cope with an interesting and disparate group but they’ve got to be canny. Few teams have greater variety of styles and philosophies than Portugal-Ghana-Uruguay-South Korea. But should Santos’ team finish second then, almost certainly, it’s Brazil next in the round of 16.

Event details:
NAME: Portugal – Ghana
DATE: 24 Nov 2022
TIME: 16:00 UTC
VENUE: Stadium 974, Ras Abu Aboud, Qatar