Portugal 3-2 Ghana: Portuguese survive late scare to record vital win after dramatic finish saw five goals scored in just 24 minutes… with Cristiano Ronaldo netting opener and Rafael Leao the winner
- Portugal emerged victorious from a World Cup thriller with Ghana on Thursday
- Cristiano Ronaldo fired them in front from the penalty spot after 65 minutes
- That was the first of five goals in a crazy 24 minutes as the game sparked to life
- Andre Ayew equalised for Ghana eight minutes after Ronaldo’s spot-kick
- Joao Felix and Rafael Leao then gave Portugal a two-goal cushion out in Doha
- Osman Bukari pulled one back for Ghana, before Inaki Williams almost levelled
- Williams crept up on goalkeeper Diogo Costa but slipped after taking the ball
It was always going to be about him. Even if it had been 90 minutes of unrelenting tedium, with no shots and no goals, he would have been the focus after what, even by his standards, has been an extraordinary week.
But, this being Cristiano Ronaldo, there was always going to be a way he would wrestle the agenda away from off-field dramas and what better way to do it than by setting a record that might not be broken. We do not use those words lightly.
Bounced out of Old Trafford on Tuesday in a blaze of acrimony, Ronaldo became the first man in history to score at five World Cups. A run that started in Frankfurt in 2006 thanks to a penalty against Iran was extended, with fitting symmetry, in Doha thanks to a penalty against Ghana.