Just two days after severing his ties with Manchester United, Cristiano Ronaldo once again confirmed why he will go down in history as one of the best athletes to ever play the game as he became the first man to score in five consecutive World Cup tournaments with his goal carrying Portugal to a 3-2 victory over Ghana on Thursday evening.In the two team’s Group H opening match played at the Stadium 974 in Doha, Qatar, the Portuguese captain opened the scoring for his side with a well-taken penalty to provide some much-needed leeway for his side who had struggled to penetrate the compact Ghanaians.RONALDO BECOMES THE FIRST MEN’S PLAYER TO SCORE IN 5 CONSECUTIVE WORLD CUPS 🐐 pic.twitter.com/KRTgFZF3rV— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) November 24, 2022 Thereafter, two quick goals from Joao Felix and super substitute Rafael Leao ensured Portugal just managed to avoid a late scare from the rejuvenated Ghanaians, who threatened to force a draw after scoring two goals from Andre Ayew and Osman Bukari, as they went top of the table.In the first half, the game had threatened to produce yet another barren stalemate as both teams failed to create clear cut chances and missed the clinical edge in front of goal whenever they fashioned anything meaningful.🇵🇹 Portugal picks up three points against Ghana after a hectic second half@adidasfootball | #FIFAWorldCup— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) November 24, 2022 However, the game burst to life in the second half just five minutes past the hour mark when American centre referee Ismail Elfath awarded a controversial penalty to Portugal when Ronaldo was adjudged to have been brought down by Mohammed Salisu.With no intervention from the VAR, Ronaldo picked himself up and etched his name in the history books with the opening goal of the match.A historic moment for a legendary player 👏#FIFAWorldCup | @Cristiano pic.twitter.com/YbpOoQHgPP— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) November 24, 2022 Feeling hard done by the decision, Ghana rolled up their sleeves and went searching for the equalizer that came just eight minutes later when Ayew got himself in the right place to poke in a Mohammed Kudus low cross across the face of goal.Just five minutes later, however, the Ghanaians found themselves trailing after a lapse in concentration allowed Bruno Fernandes to thread in a perfect through pass to Felix who coolly dinked the ball over Lawrence Ati-Zigi in the Ghana goal.##NAJAVA_MECA_6834001##Two minutes later, Fernandes once again provided the ball on a plate for Leao who found the bottom corner with his first touches after coming on.Bukari managed to reduce the deficit with a header in the 89th minute but his goal was a case of too little too late as the Portuguese resolutely held onto the slender advantage to go top of Group H.QATAR 2022 WORLD CUPGROUP HThursdayUruguay – S.Korea 0-0Portugal – Ghana 3-2 (0-0)/Ronaldo 65 pen, Felix 78, Leao 80 – Ayew 73, Bukari 89/
