Portugal faces Ghana in their FIFA World Cup 2022 Group H opening on Thursday at Doha’s Stadium 974, hoping to deflect attention away from the ongoing Cristiano Ronaldo vs Man United drama. African opponents face an uphill battle to get to the knockout stages, as Fernando Santos’s side will also face Uruguay and South Korea in a tough section. Portugal vs Ghana Live Streaming, Prediction, Lineups & Preview Guide by Live Football TV.
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Portugal vs Ghana Kick-Off Time
Portugal vs Ghana will kick off at 7.00 pm Qatar time, 4:00 pm UK time, 5:00 pm Central European time, and 11:00 am Eastern Time (ET).
Portugal vs Ghana Preview
Ronaldo took no punches in a stinging attack on Manchester United during an interview with Piers Morgan, which could see him quit Old Trafford or be terminated and sued. Ronaldo made a surprise appearance at a press conference earlier this week to demand that focus be on the football rather than his actions, as the five-time Ballon d’Or winner desperately seeks to help Portugal finally achieve the big one after several World Cup disappointments.
Courtesy: Piers Morgan Uncensored / YouTube
Despite being a famous footballing nation, Portugal has only reached the World Cup semi-finals twice, in 1966 and 2006. They haven’t advanced past the last 16 in four of their last five tournaments. A Selecao lost in the last 16 to Uruguay in Russia four years ago and have only won three of their last 11 World Cup matches, but they warmed up by thrashing Nigeria 4-0 last Thursday.
Santos’s men haven’t won any of their last three opening matches at the World Cup, but Ghana must lace up their best shooting boots to penetrate a defense that has only conceded two goals in their last seven games.
Ghana is back at the World Cup after missing out in 2018 and is dreaming of sweet revenge in Group H against Luis Suarez, who stopped them from reaching the semi-finals in 2006. Before renewing hostilities with South America on December 2, Ghana faces a baptism of fire in Qatar as they prepare for a fourth World Cup appearance since 2006. The African nation has only been eliminated at the group stage once.
The Black Stars failed to win any of their three Africa Cup of Nations matches before Otto Addo took over. Ghana enters the World Cup having won seven of their last eight matches in all competitions, keeping clean sheets in all of those victories and only losing to Brazil, and they defeated Switzerland 2-0 in a friendly last week.
Ronaldo helped Portugal beat Ghana 2-1 at the 2014 World Cup, so a similar performance would help him make headlines again.
Portugal vs Ghana Team News
Ronaldo has been ill and missed Portugal’s friendly win over Nigeria, but he’s ready for Thursday’s opener. Santos should be training with a fully-fit squad this week, and Diogo Costa will seek to edge over Rui Patricio in goal.
Bernardo Silva and Ronaldo should start, leaving Joao Felix, Rafael Leao, Otavio, and Andre Silva to battle for the final attacking position. The AC Milan starlet’s left-sided skill should work in his favor.
Ghana boss Addo should have all of his players available for the opening day after resting some big names against Switzerland last week. Thomas Partey, Kamaldeen Sulemana, and Alexander Djiku were on the bench for that game, however, Andre Ayew and Jordan Ayew started.
Andre Ayew, who plays for Al-Sadd in Qatar, would become the most-capped African player at a World Cup if he played, but Sulemana and Inaki Williams may be picked.
Portugal vs Ghana Lineups
Portugal possible XI:
Costa; Cancelo, Pepe, Dias, Guerreiro; Neves, Carvalho, Fernandes; B. Silva, Ronaldo, Leao
Ghana possible XI:
Ati Zigi; Lamptey, Amartey, Djiku, Baba; Partey, Abdul Samed; Sulemana, Kudus, J. Ayew; Williams
How to Watch Portugal vs Ghana Match?
You can watch Portugal vs Ghana match on TV and stream it online. Check out our FIFA World Cup Official Broadcaster list to know which channel will telecast this Portugal vs Ghana match in your region. fuboTV offers a great deal with the free trial to stream all the FIFA World Cup 2022 games in high definition for any device.
Portugal vs Ghana Prediction
With Ghana’s stout defense in recent games and their abundance of young talent in the attacking third, this looks like it could be a difficult opening match for Portugal. While fans of the Selecao shouldn’t expect a cakewalk in Doha, we have faith that Portugal will fight out a tight victory and get off to a great start thanks to the abundance of superb attacking alternatives at their disposal.
