World Cup Qatar | Portugal vs Ghana - Nov 24 | 16:00 UTC

[Mat]

Game info Portugal vs Ghana

 

Probably counting on Cristiano Ronaldo among the starters, the Portugal team will debut in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar on Thursday, November 24. It will face the Ghana team. The duel will be held at stadium 974. The start is scheduled for 16:00 UTC.

 

How does the 2022 Qatar World Cup work?

 

The World Cup in Qatar will be the last to be played with 32 teams. As of the 2026 World Cup, shared by the United States, Mexico, and Canada, the number of participants will jump to 4. Thus, it will be the last time the format with eight groups of four teams will be used. Teams play against each other in a single shift in this first phase.

 

The top two finishers in each bracket survive to the next stage. From then on, in a single elimination game, the finalists will be defined. In the case of equality, the extra time and penalty kicks can be used to describe who advances.

 

Portugal performance

Cristiano Ronaldo was left out of the last friendly preparatory match for the Lusitanian national team. At the age of 37, the star has played very little in recent months since he became a reserve at Manchester United, and in the last matches claiming to be sick was not even related. However, he left England with a bombastic interview, accusing everyone, except himself, of course, of the colossal failure in his return to the Old Trafford club.

 

Although gastritis was officially the official reason for not being activated in the match against Nigeria on Thursday, November 17, in Lisbon, at the team's farewell in front of their fans before leaving for Qatar, there was suspicion that coach Fernando Santos' decision not to put him on the field was motivated by the controversy created by the situation with the club. However, the veteran coach is unlikely to continue without listing him among the starters.

 

That's right, although the Portuguese team has shown that it is no longer dependent on Cristiano Ronaldo for some time now. On the contrary. Aged and far from the best physical conditions, the player avoids better team dynamics while on the field. In the European Qualifiers for the World Cup, Portugal had more work than expected to get the spot. It was in second place in its group, with Serbia as the champion, having to resort to the play-off dispute to obtain its place in the 2022 Qatar Cup.

 

Ghana performance

The Ghana national team had a scare before their debut at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Nothing, however, related to their performance on the four lines. The delegation had to hurriedly leave the hotel they were staying in after the incense alarm sounded. It was, however, a false alarm.

 

Perhaps the good impression left by the 2-0 victory over Switzerland in their last friendly before their World Cup debut was also false. On Thursday, November 17, in the United Arab Emirates, the Ghanaians won by 2-0. Salisu's goals, in the 25th minute, and Semenyo, are in the 29th minute, both in the second half.

 

Not that the result wasn't fair. He was the Ghana team, who possessed the ball 44% of the time, and developed 11 shooting opportunities, half a dozen of which went in the right direction. However, Switzerland, who listed their starting line-up for the match, showed little interest in the clash. Acting with low intensity, he even developed seven chances to shoot. However, he failed to hit the Ghanaian goal even once.

 

Place your bet on this match HERE