Portugal 3-2 Ghana: Ghana put up a valiant fight against Portugal on Thursday, but after a chaotic last half hour, went down during the World Cup overture (3-2). Afterwards, the Ghanaian camp was mainly about Cristiano Ronaldo’s questionable penalty.
Ronaldo almost willingly went to the ground after a small push from Mohammed Salisu. Referee Ismail Elfath then firmly pointed to the spot and the VAR decided not to intervene, to the dismay of Otto Addo. “The referee gave a penalty that was not there. Everyone saw that. Why? Just because it’s Ronaldo?” the Ghanaian national coach wondered aloud in conversation with beIN Sports.
That the VAR left it at that, perhaps irritated Addo the most. “I don’t know why the VAR didn’t do anything, there was no explanation. It was even a foul on us. I have no evidence that the referee would have ruled otherwise on anyone else. There was contact between the players. I don’t know what they were doing, wasn’t the VAR paying attention?”
Ghana is currently in 4th position in Group H after the opening game. Portugal is in the lead with three points, Uruguay and South Korea kept each other in balance and both have one point.
Portugal 3-2 Ghana: Ronaldo’s post-match reaction
Ronaldo opened the scoring after an hour. The 37-year-old attacker decorated an easily given penalty and hit flawlessly. That goal immediately gave him a record, because no player has ever scored five World Cups in a row before. “A great moment at my fifth World Cup,” A Bola noted the goalscorer’s words at the press conference. “That record is a source of great pride for me.”
The fact that Portugal eventually crossed the line with difficulty did not bother Ronaldo. “It was a very important win. We know that winning the first game is vital in this competition. I am happy that we performed very well. It was difficult, but we were the deserved winner.”
About his departure from United, Ronaldo refused to comment. “The most important thing is that we have now won. That chapter has been closed and the focus is now exclusively on the World Cup. As I said, we wanted to get off to a good start. We won, played well, and I helped the team. Everything else doesn’t matter. The most important thing is the Portuguese national team.”
