By Dan Zekiri
Cristiano Ronaldo begins a fifth World Cup campaign with Portugal as a free agent after terminating his contract with Manchester United. Hopefully he can catch the eye of a scout or two. Rumor has it that he may have a chance to make it, although they say he has terrible taste in interviewers.
Portugal are in a tough group alongside Uruguay, South Korea and this afternoon’s opponents Ghana, who were denied South Africa 2010 by that infamous Luis Suarez handball.
There is a sense that Portugal have taken a bit of a breather under manager Fernando Santos, with whom they won Euro 2016, but they have one of the most lavishly talented squads in the competition. Bruno Fernandes and Bernardo Silva will pull the strings, Rafael Leao offers incredible speed on the wing and Ronaldo and Joao Felix are other star strikers. Manchester City pair Ruben Diaz and Joao Cancelo will be mainstays in the back four.
“The atmosphere in the dressing room is excellent. There are no problems,” five-time Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo said on Monday. “The group is protected. And I take this opportunity to say: stop asking about me.”
A lot will revolve around Thomas Partey for Ghana, who signed the first spell of the Premier League season in commanding form with Arsenal. How his body holds up to three days in just over a week could be crucial. Ajax striker Mohamed Quddus is tipped to be their next star, drawing comparisons with Neymar in an interview with the Guardian this morning. Coach Otto Addo, Ghana’s third manager in 12 months, has sought to rebuild the squad after a disastrous Cup of Nations performance at the start of 2022, bringing in more European-born players such as Brighton and Hove Albion winger Tariq Lamptey.
Full team news coming soon.
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