Cristiano Ronaldo – The Portuguese captain made history by becoming the first man to score in five different FIFA World Cups.
Ronaldo scored for Portugal as the Euro 2016 winners beat Ghana 3-2 on their World Cup 2022 debut. After a goalless first half, Ronaldo opened the scoring in the 65th minute of the game by converting a penalty that he himself won.
In the process, he became the first man to score a goal in five different editions of FIFA’s flagship event. This is Ronaldo’s fifth World Cup and the Portuguese superstar has scored at least one goal in each of them.
Ronaldo’s first World Cup goal came in 2006 when he netted for Portugal in their 2-0 win over Iran in the group stage. The now 37-year-old also scored a goal at the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups.
Cristiano Ronaldo becomes the first player to score in five different World Cups
Ronaldo’s best World Cup campaign in terms of goals scored came in Russia in 2018. The Portuguese superstar scored four goals, including a hat-trick against Spain, at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
With his goal against Ghana in Portugal’s 2022 World Cup opener, Ronaldo has now scored eight goals in FIFA’s flagship event.
For its part, the match between Portugal and Ghana had an exciting ending after Ronaldo opened the scoring. Andre Ayew restored equality for Ghana in the 73rd minute, scoring from close range after Portugal failed to clear an opponents attack.
Portugal, however, regained the lead in the 78th minute of the game, with Bruno Fernandes feeding a pass to Joao Félix, who delivered a brilliant finish to put his team up 2-1.
Portugal then set up a two-goal cushion just two minutes later, this time Rafael Leao finding the net. Leao, who came off the bench a few minutes earlier, sent the ball into the far corner after receiving a pass from Fernandes.
The match, however, came to a nervous end after Osman Bukari halved Ghana’s deficit in the 89th minute of the match. Ghana went for an equalizer in stoppage time but Portugal held on to win all three points.
Meanwhile, the win lifts Portugal to the top of the Group H points table. Portugal has three points from one game, while Ghana languishes in fourth place with no points. South Korea and Uruguay, who tied without goals today, occupy the second and third position respectively with one point each.
