Amidst the never-ending Cristiano Ronaldo saga, Portugal will kickstart their FIFA World Cup campaign with a Group H encounter against Ghana at Doha’s Stadium 974 on Thursday. This is perhaps the most challenging group as Uruguay will also take on Uruguay and South Korea and hence, need a cracking start to hold them in great stead.
Portugal have a solid, exhilarating side at their disposal – they are perhaps one of the favourites to clinch the title and a lot will depend on the setup the manager prefers on the day. Manager Fernando Santos believes in taking the game deep and this might not allow him to extract the best out of his attacking players.
After a brief hiatus from the tournament when they failed to make it to World Cup 2018, Ghana are back at the biggest stage and they would be keen to hold their fort and even cause an upset. Saudi Arabia and Japan have already floored fancied opponents and Ghana would want to do the same.
FIFA World Cup Portugal vs Ghana Teams News
Portugal Football Team News
After all his off-field controversies, Cristiano Ronaldo will be glad to get back in action. He missed the friendly against Nigeria, but should be fired up to get the job done against Gnana. Diogo Costa is expected to be the goalie ahead of Rui Patricio. Pepe will be the main man in defence while Joao Felix is expected to start on the bench.
Ghana Football Team News
Ghana rested all their big guns in the friendly against Switzerland and hence, have a full squad at their disposal. The nucleus of the side will be powered by Thomas Party, Inaki Williams, and Mohammed Kudu. Jordan Ayew could get the nod to start ahead of brother Andre Ayew.
FIFA World Cup Portugal vs Ghana Predicted Starting XI
Portugal Predicted Starting XI
Diogo Costa; Joao Cancelo, Pepe, Rube Dias, Nuno Mendes; Ruben Neves, William Carvalho, Bruno Fernandes; Bernardo Silva, Cristiano Ronaldo, Rafael Leao
Ghana Predicted Starting XI
Lawrence Ati Zigi; Tariq Lamptey, Daniel Amartey, Alexander Djiku, Baba Rahman; Thomas Partey, Abdul Samed; Kamaldeen Sulemana, Mohammed Kudus, Jordan Ayew; Inaki Williams
Qatar WC Portugal vs Ghana Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- Portugal have not been able to win their last three opening matches in major multi-national tournaments.
- Three of Portugal’s previous four World Cup appearances have ended in the last 16.
- Ghana have not won any of their last 7 matches in the FIFA World Cup.
- Ghana have been brilliant in their 8 games – they have won 7 of these games and have kept a clean sheet in 7 matches.
Portugal vs Ghana FIFA WC Fantasy Football Team
Goalkeeper: Diogo Costa
Defenders: Joao Cancelo, Djiku, Tariq Lamptey, Nuno Mendes
Midfielders: Bernardo Silva (VC), Bruno Fernandes, Mohammed Kudus
Strikers: Rafael Leao, Cristiano Ronaldo (C), Inaki Williams
FIFA World Cup Portugal vs Ghana Match Details
Kick-off date: Thursday, November 24
Kick-off time: 9:30 pm IST
Venue: Stadium 974
Portugal vs Ghana Match Live Streaming in India
Live Telecast: Sports18 SD/HD
Live streaming: JioCinema (App & Website)
Portugal vs Ghana Match Prediction
Considering the quality of Portugal, they are clear favourites to win this match. If they go in with an attacking option, they could win this game 3-0.
