Portugal vs Ghana – World Cup LIVE: Cristiano Ronaldo in action, stream FREE, TV channel – updates for Group H clash

Portugal 0-0 Ghana

8. A nervy moment for Danilo in defence, who tries to trick his way beyond Andre Ayew inside his own penalty area – but momentarily forgets to take the ball with him.

Portugal 0-0 Ghana

7. Portugal have bossed possession early on, but it’s all a little frantic so far.

Bruno Fernandes has a chance to pierce the Ghana defence, but his lofted through ball is so wayward that it curls out for a throw-in near to the corner flag.

Portugal 0-0 Ghana

5. The corner from the left is headed partially away, but only as far as Otavio, who goes for a spectacular response on the volley.

His first time shot from 25 yards is pulled well wide of the goal.

Portugal 0-0 Ghana

4. Guerreiro wins the first corner of the game for Portugal after coming out on top in an intriguing footrace with Seidu.

Portugal 0-0 Ghana

2. The crowd cheer as Ronaldo takes his first touch in open play, but it’s an uncharacteristically heavy one that leads to him chopping down Baba Rahman.

An inauspicious start.

Kick-off – Portugal v Ghana

1. American referee Ismail Elfath blows his whistle, and then Cristiano Ronaldo – visibly emotional during the national anthem – gets the game going for Portugal.

There are bound to be more tears from the 37-year-old during the coming weeks, but will they be of joy or despair?

Here come the two teams!

The light show inside Stadium 974 has finished. Now it’s time for Cristiano Ronaldo to try to light up Qatar 2022.

He looks in relaxed mood as he leads his Portuguese team out on to the pitch. One sign among the travelling fans read: “I resigned from my job to witness the G.O.A.T.’s last dance.” Can he deliver?

The Ghanaians certainly look happy to be here and they sing their way through a jaunty national anthem, but now it’s time for the serious business.

Kick-off at Stadium 974 is next.

Bilbao’s Inaki in attack-y

Leading the Ghana line this evening is Inaki Williams of Athletic Bilbao.

If his name, style and look seems familiar, it may because his younger brother – Nico – made an impressive cameo as substitute for Spain in their 7-0 win over Costa Rica yesterday.

The 28-year-old Inaki is certainly a consistent performer in the domestic game; his 247 consecutive league appearances for Bilbao is the longest current such run in LaLiga.

A case for the defence

There was only one goalless draw at the 2018 World Cup, but five days into Qatar 2022 and we’ve already had four.

Surely there won’t be another one here in Doha this evening? Well…

Portugal coach Fernando Santos has come under fire from fans for his dour approach with many back home believing he is not making the most of the attacking talent at his disposal.

Meanwhile, ITV have just revealed that Chris Hughton has been helping out with the Ghana squad, promising that the Black Stars will ‘defend properly’ during this tournament.

Players put through their paces

Half-hour from kick-off at Stadium 974, and both sets of coaches are out on the pitch and keeping keen eyes on their players warming up.

It may only be the pre-match routine, but Cristiano Ronaldo is looking sharp and focused. How will Thomas Partey and co. go about dealing with the FORMER Manchester United star?

Opportunity to hit the top

A short while ago, the full time whistle was blown at Education City on the fourth goalless draw of this World Cup so far.

The 0-0 result between Uruguay and South Korea in Group H’s opening game means this upcoming match is an early opportunity for either Portugal or Ghana to pull clear of the pack. Who will take advantage?

Here comes your man

There’s been a first sight this evening of the player that everyone is talking about…

HUUUGE roar from the crowd as CR7 comes out, clapping his hands above his head to respond to the Portugal fans who still believe he is the greatest player on the planet. If that’s what it’s like for the warm-up, how absolutely mental will it be if he scores the winner?

Martin LiptonThe Sun

Tenth tournament for CR7

On the pitch or off the pitch, Cristiano Ronaldo can’t stop making headlines and setting records.

This evening, the Portugal captain will play at his tenth major international tournament for his country, becoming the first European to do so.

His first such competition was Euro 2004 in his home country, a tournament in which he scored his first goal for A Selecao.

Live from Stadium 974

Our man in the ground this evening is Martin Lipton, and he’s been busy getting used to the sight of an unattached Cristiano Ronaldo.

“All eyes will be on one man, of course, inside the remarkable feat of engineering that is Stadium 974 on the Doha waterfront.

“Seven of the Portuguese side, and four Ghanaians, are current or former Premier League stars.

“But all of them have a club designation on the official Fifa team-sheet.

“All except one. Beside the name of Ronaldo it reads: ‘N/A (Free Agent)’

“That’s been changed quite recently.”

Brighton’s Lamptey among Ghana subs

12 Danlad, 16 Nurudeen, 2 Lamptey, 3 Odoi, 6 Owusu, 7 Fatawu, 8 Kyereh, 9 Jordan Ayew, 11 Bukari, 13 Afriyie, 14 Mensah, 15 Aidoo, 22 Sulemana, 24 Sowah, 25 Semenyo

Partey named in Ghana XI

Ghana (5-4-1): 1 Ati Zigi; 26 Seidu, 23 Djiku, 18 Amartey, 4 Salisu, 17 Rahman; 20 Kudus, 5 Partey, 21 Abdul Samed, 10 Andre Ayew; 19 Inaki Williams

On the Portuguese bench tonight

1 Rui Patricio, 12 Sa, 2 Dalot, 3 Pepe, 6 Palhinha, 9 Andre Silva, 14 Carvalho, 15 Leao, 16 Vitinha, 17 Joao Mário, 21 Horta, 23 Nunes, 24 Antonio Silva, 26 Ramos

Ronaldo starts and captains Portugal

Portugal (4-4-2): 22 Costa; 20 Cancelo, 13 Danilo, 4 Ruben Dias, 5 Guerreiro; 8 Bruno Fernandes, 18 Neves, 10 Bernardo Silva, 25 Otavio; 11 Joao Felix, 7 Ronaldo

Selecao odds-on for success

The bookies aren’t giving Ghana – the lowest ranked team at Qatar 2022 – much of a chance in this Group H opener against Portugal with the Black Stars priced at almost 8/1.

• Portugal win 1/3
• Draw 4/1
• Ghana win 17/2

Meanwhile, if you like your bets with a little more longevity, why not consider Cristiano Ronaldo for the Golden Boot? The 37-year-old is a 16/1 shot to put his Manchester United fallout behind him to top score at the World Cup.

Match odds from Betfair correct at the time of post publication.

On the last episode

Not only will Cristiano Ronaldo be looking to secure the golden boot but he’ll want to inflict more pain on Ghana similar to last time out.

John Boye’s Own goal but Portugal ahead when the sides met in a Group stage encounter back in 2014.

But Ghanaian legend Asamoah Gyan’s fine finish levelled up the scoring for the Black Stars.

However, Ronaldo hit a winner on the 80th minute to seal the deal for the European giants.

World Cup Golden Boot standings

As it stands, five players are tied at the top for the golden boot – something which Cristiano Ronaldo will have his eye on.

1. Bukayo Saka – England – 2
2. Olivier Giroud – France – 2
3. Mehdi Taremi – Iran – 2
4. Enner Valencia – Ecuador – 2
5. Ferran Torres – Spain – 2
6. Jude Bellingham – England – 1
7. Jack Grealish – England – 1
8. Kylian Mbappe – France – 1
9. Gareth Bale – Wales – 1
10. Lionel Messi – Argentina – 1

The stage is set

With only two hours to go, time is ticking until the big kick-off at 4pm.

Other fixtures happening today

Breel Embolo’s goal inspired Switzerland to a 1-0 victory over Cameroon.

Uruguay are currently level with South Korea at the interval in Group H’s early fixture.

And we round off the day with a mouth-watering match between Brazil and Serbia.

Welcome to Portugal vs Ghana

Good afternoon SunSport community and welcome to another huge fixture in what has been an exciting 2022 World Cup so far – and a certain someone is BACK.

Portugal vs Ghana is big enough as it is, but now, we can add Cristiano Ronaldo’s Manchester United sacking to the mix.

The footballing legend will be determined to put what has been a controversial week behind him after he saw his mega £500k-a-week contract torn up.

And that spells danger for the Black Stars who have their eyes set on knock-out qualification for the first time since 2010.

Make sure to stay tuned into our blog as we will have all the latest gossip, team news, what is happening elsewhere and the starting line-ups ALL before kick-off at 4pm GMT.