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RASS ABOU ABOUD, Qatar — Cristiano Ronaldo’s fifth and probably final World Cup began with a win as Portugal beat Ghana 3-2 at Stadium 974 on Thursday.
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Ronaldo, who officially departed Manchester United on Tuesday, scored with a second-half penalty. And although Andre Ayew made it 1-1, Portugal took control with two goals in two minutes from Joao Felix and Rafael Leao. Osman Bukari came off the bench to make it 3-2, but Portugal held on despite a late score when goalkeeper Diogo Costa nearly conceded a bizarre chance in the final seconds of injury time.
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Contents
Rapid Reaction
1. Portugal attacking talent sees them through, but there are issues at the back
It’s perhaps obvious that when you’ve got attacking players like Ronaldo, Felix, Leao, Bruno Fernandes and Bernardo Silva, you’re going to have no problem scoring goals. It was lucky Portugal got three against Ghana.
The Black Stars, who scraped through qualifying after a playoff with Nigeria, don’t usually score many, but they got two here, first through Ayew and then Bukari. Bukari’s late header didn’t count for much after Portugal had gone up 3-1, but it was still enough for Ronaldo, at that point sat on the substitutes bench, to throw his hands up in despair.
Portugal have the forward players to match any other team at this World Cup, but they are going to struggle defensively against better teams than Ghana if they keep having lapses in concentration at the back. That was best summed up in the final minute of stoppage time when Costa rolled the ball out and was almost robbed by Inaki Williams.
2. Ronaldo gets his goal despite first-half frustration
It looked like it might be one of those frustrating nights for Ronaldo — the type he has had plenty of at Man United this season — but in the end he got his…
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