Cristiano Ronaldo made historical past as he turned the primary participant to attain in 5 World Cups, powering Portugal to a 3-2 victory over Ghana on Day 5 of the World Cup in Qatar.
The 37-year-old struck a thumping 61st-minute penalty to place Fernando Santos’s facet forward within the Group H encounter at Stadium 974 in Doha, with the striker eager to indicate off his skills to potential new golf equipment following an acrimonious break up this week with Manchester United.
Portugal’s benefit didn’t final lengthy with Ghana captain Andre Ayew drawing his facet degree within the 73rd minute, marking the primary aim by an African facet at this 12 months’s event.
The Black Stars’s raucous followers broke out in celebration after watching their group fail to take a single shot within the first 45 minutes.
However the jubilant scenes had been short-lived, as Portugal turned up the warmth with Joao Felix and Rafael Leao scoring twice within the following seven minutes to make it 3-1 on the 80-minute mark.
Any hopes Portugal had of a snug stroll to victory, nonetheless, had been shaken by Ghana’s Osman Bukari, who made it 3-2 within the 89th minute.
A tense 9 minutes of additional time adopted however Portugal held on to take three factors and put themselves on the high of the group.
Portugal are subsequent in motion on Monday towards Uruguay. Ghana play South Korea on the identical day.
Brazil vs Serbia
Brazil opened their marketing campaign for the World Cup in type with Richarlison powering the event favourites to a 2-0 victory towards Serbia on the Lusail Stadium.
The 25-year-old striker scored simply after the one-hour mark within the Group G fixture and went on so as to add a spectacular second aim shortly afterwards within the 73rd minute.
Serbia, who had supplied staunch resistance for the primary two-thirds of the sport, had been left to chase shadows as Brazil’s gamers zipped the ball round and staged common raids on their opponents’ field, underlining their credentials as essentially the most harmful facet within the competitors.
However there was concern about star ahead Neymar.
The 30-year-old had helped Selecao win the 2013 Confederations Cup and its first Olympic gold medal on the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Video games however he limped out of the motion towards Serbia within the eightieth minute after receiving a knock to his proper ankle.
Neymar has had issues with that foot earlier than and the Paris St Germain participant sat on the bench along with his face coated whereas he acquired therapy for the rest of the match.
Brazil’s win leaves them high of Group G, adopted by Switzerland.
The South American giants, who’re searching for a sixth World Cup win, will play Switzerland on Monday. Serbia will play Cameroon on the identical day.
Uruguay vs South Korea
Uruguay and South Korea kicked off their World Cup campaigns at Training Metropolis Stadium in Doha with a fast-paced recreation that led to a goalless draw.
Regardless of a scarcity of targets, the ambiance within the stadium was electrical, with South Korean followers banging on drums all through the sport.
Uruguay – generally known as La Celeste – got here closest to scoring when Diego Godin hit the submit with a header within the first half. Federico Valverde hit the submit once more within the 89th minute with a long-range effort.
South Korea additionally had a number of probabilities and will likely be pissed off that Hwang Ui-jo couldn’t do extra after he discovered himself unmarked within the thirty seventh minute.
Switzerland vs Cameroon
Taking part in on the Al Janoub stadium, Switzerland edged previous a vigorous Cameroon facet of their Group G recreation, sustaining their unbeaten file of their opening video games on the World Cup.
Ahead Breel Embolo scored the profitable aim for Switzerland within the first half.
The 25-year-old was born in Cameroon’s capital, Yaoundé, however moved to Switzerland along with his household and have become a Swiss citizen shortly after his 18th birthday.
After scoring, Embolo raised his fingers in an apologetic method as teammates celebrated round him. He pointed in the direction of Swiss followers behind the aim the place he had scored, then to Cameroon followers on the reverse nook of the stadium.
Cameroon had been the higher facet within the opening half, whereas Switzerland pulled themselves collectively within the second.
Following their 1-0 victory, Switzerland are attributable to play Brazil on Monday, whereas Cameroon will face off towards Serbia.
Off the pitch:
Social media sensation
Abubakr Abbass, a 23-year-old from Kenya, has emerged as a fan favorite – and unintended social media sensation – in Qatar.
Sat on a tennis-umpire chair and carrying a big foam finger, he guides the a whole lot of followers visiting the historic market, referred to as Souq Waqif, to the metro station close by with the assistance of his trusted megaphone.
His useful recommendation, “Metro? This manner. Metro? This manner,” has now grow to be a catchphrase.
“I noticed him on TikTok. I believed it was actually humorous. He makes me snigger; it’s such a easy activity,” mentioned a younger fan wearing a Chelsea soccer shirt.
Pretend video on Ukraine followers
Al Jazeera has mentioned a video attributed to the information community and circulating on social media is pretend.
The video claims that three “drunken” Ukrainian soccer followers had been arrested and had additionally unfold “Nazi symbols” in Doha.
“The video in query is totally pretend and Al Jazeera has by no means printed any information associated to this story,” Al Jazeera mentioned in a press release.
The video’s essential message in regards to the “Ukrainian Nazis” echoes pro-Russian misinformation circulating on the web.
“The fundamental Russian narrative for export is the allegedly ‘Nazi’ character of Ukraine’s political regime,” Kyiv-based analyst Aleksey Kushch instructed Al Jazeera.
The claims “function justification of the warfare each for [a] home [Russian] viewers and for international [audiences]”, Kushch mentioned.
Whereas Ukraine has some outspoken far-right, ultra-nationalist and white supremacist teams, their present affect on Ukraine’s political life is restricted.
