Ghana has their toughest challenge in the World Cup in the very first round of the group stage. The Black Stars will face Portugal as their opening fixture of Group H.
With both teams eager to start the competition with a win, this should be an interesting matchup to consider.
Portugal vs Ghana
Ghana will be playing in Group H alongside Portugal, Uruguay, and South Korea. This will be only the fourth time Ghana has qualified for the final tournament.
But they do have a good record when it comes to qualifying for the knockout stages. They have managed to do that two out of three times so far.
The only time they failed to get out of the group stage was in Brazil in 2014. Also, they failed to qualify for the most recent competition played in Russia in 2018.
The team led by Otto Addo does have a chance to qualify for the next round, with their biggest opponents for one of the two spots being Portugal and Uruguay.
A surprise win over Portugal will bring them much closer to their goal. But in order to do that, they have to break through the sturdy defence of Fernando Santos’ side.
Recommended Tip of the Game
Here are some tips for the game:
- The last and only time the two teams met was in the group stages of the 2014 tournament in Brazil. Portugal ended up winning 2:1 late, thanks to a Cristiano Ronaldo goal.
- Ghana won their last seven games out of eight, including friendlies and international games. Their only loss was in a friendly match against Brazil by 3:0.
- Portugal didn’t earn a direct spot in the competition. They had to go through an added qualification tournament where they qualified by beating Turkey 3:1 and North Macedonia 2:0.
Ghana Analysis
Ghana World Cup 2022 dreams are to qualify for the knockout stage. But in order to do that, they have to record a win against South Korea and get at least a point either versus Portugal or Uruguay.
The game versus Portugal will be their toughest challenge in the competition.
The first game of the tournament is usually the most crucial one for each team. It can make or break your further success. Grabbing a point against Portugal would equal a win for the Black Stars.
Portugal Analysis
Even though Portugal is considered one of the favourites to go deep into the competition, they seem to be struggling a bit in recent years. They are not as defensively sound as they were when they won Euro 2016.
But they have massive firepower in the front, which could prove to be enough to get them through. They enter the game versus Ghana as favourites, but they have to show that on the field as well.
Expected Lineups
- Portugal (4-2-3-1) – GK: Diogo Costa; DEF: Joao Cancelo, Ruben Dias, Danilo Pereira, Nuno Mendes; MID: William Carvalho, Ruben Neves, Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva, Rafael Leao; FW: Cristiano Ronaldo.
- Ghana (4-2-3-1) – GK: Richard Ofori; DEF: Daniel Amartey, Abdul Rahman Baba, Gideon Mensah, Alexander Djiku; MID: Iddrisu Baba, Thomas Partey, Mohammed Kudus, Andre Ayew, Jordan Ayew; FW: Inaki Williams.
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