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With the win over Ghana, Portugal is up and rolling, as Ronaldo sets a new record.

After a slow start, Portugal scored twice in rapid succession to win the game at Stadium 974.
Portugal, who has three points and is in first place in the group, will play Uruguay on Monday.
In addition, Ghana will face South Korea on the same day.
In Thursday’s 3-2 win for Portugal over Ghana, Cristiano Ronaldo became the first player to score in five World Cups, putting an end to a tumultuous tournament buildup.

Although Andre Ayew scored an equalizer for Ghana in the 66th minute, Portugal poured on the gas with two quick goals to essentially seal the deal at Stadium 974. Ronaldo scored the game’s first goal from the penalty spot in the 65th minute.

Even though Osman Bukari scored late to give Ghana hope, Portugal won their first World Cup opening match since 2006 thanks to goals from Joao Felix and Rafael Leao.

Although it was not a particularly impressive victory, Fernando Santos’s team can breathe a little easier knowing they are now three points clear at the top of Group B and will face Uruguay on Monday while Ghana takes on South Korea.

Like the forward seems to dominate Portugal’s play, the bitter end to Ronaldo’s second spell at Manchester United dominated the build-up to the match.

Ronaldo appeared to have a gravitational pull on the ball comparable to that of the planets against Ghana, as teammates constantly looked for him.

For long stretches of the game, Ronaldo was the focal point of attention as he constantly threatened inside the Ghana penalty area.

Early on, he had two opportunities: a one-on-one that he squandered with a heavy touch, and a header in which he, per usual, lingered in the air before glancing his attempt wide.

After 31 minutes he smashed the ball into the back of the net, only to realize the referee had already blown his whistle for a foul.

Although they had the youngest team in the World Cup, Ghana’s goals in the first half rarely strayed further than the halfway line as the lowest ranked team in the tournament sought to keep almost everyone behind the ball at all times.

After the 60th minute, the game boiled down to its most exciting sequence, with Portugal taking the lead on a controversial penalty after Ronaldo went down from light shoulder-to-shoulder contact with Mohammed Salisu.

Ronaldo waited with eyes closed to begin his run up, fumbled the ball, and scored to the keeper’s right.

The entire Portugal team raced down the touchline to pile on top of Ronaldo, who surpassed Pele, Uwe Seeler and Miroslav Klose as the only male player to find the net in five separate World Cups.

Ghana fired back quickly though when Mohammed Kudus’s cross found its way to Ayew who tapped home.

Portugal, however, then revved into gear with Felix latching onto a Bruno Fernandes throughball and lifting his finish nonchalantly over the keeper.

Fernandes was the architect of their third goal too, playing another superb throughball for substitute Leao to slide his finish across the keeper and into the bottom corner.

There was tension at the end, however, as Ghana pulled another goal back with Osman Bukari, appearing unmarked in the box, heading in a cross from the left in the 89th minute, giving a sliver of hope to Ghana’s fans behind that goal.