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Cristiano Ronaldo wrote his name in the record books as he became the first player to score in five World Cups after converting a penalty against Ghana in Portugal's opening Group H match at the Stadium 974 on Thursday, The Times of India reported.

Portugal survived a nervous nine minutes of stoppage time to edge past the African side 3-2 in a five-goal thriller.

Portugal dominated the first half completely but failed to break the deadlock and went into the halftime break at 0-0 against Ghana. Ronaldo broke the stalemate with a penalty conversion in the 65th minute, his 118th international goal for Portugal. Ghana skipper

Andre Ayew scored an equaliser in the 73rd minute, but two quick goals from Joao Felix (78th minute) and substitute Rafael Leao (80th minute) put Portugal back on the top.

Just when all looked in favour of Portugal, Osman Bukari scored a goal for Ghana a minute before the regulation time to put pressure on the European side. Portugal then survived a nervous nine minutes of stoppage time to open their campaign with a win.

Most of the action was condensed into a short period after the 60th minute with Portugal taking the lead when awarded a soft penalty after Ronaldo went down following minimal shoulder-to-shoulder contact with Mohammed Salisu.

Ronaldo closed his eyes as he waited to begin his run up, stuttered and smashed the ball into the net to the keeper's right, according to The Times of India.

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

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

Fernandes was the architect of their third goal too, playing another superb through ball 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 heading a cross from the left in the 89th minute. Portugal, who now top the group with three points, next face Uruguay on Monday, when Ghana play South Korea.

 

Uruguay defender Diego Godin and midfielder Federico Valverde hit the woodwork as the South Americans were held to a 0-0 draw by South Korea in their opening World Cup Group H game, Aljazeera reported. Wearing a black mask to protect a facial fracture, Son Heung-min started for the South Koreans on Thursday, yet it was teammate Hwang Ui-jo who came closest to breaking the deadlock, but he scooped his shot over the bar with the goal at his mercy.

Valverde fired a stinging shot in the final minute of regulation time that hit the top of the post as the two sides battled to a stalemate in front of a crowd of 41,663, with group rivals Portugal set to meet Ghana later in the evening.  

Another World Cup day, another World Cup shock.

Substitutes Ritsu Doan and Takuma Asano scored late goals Wednesday to give Japan a come-from-behind 2-1 victory over Germany, Associated Press reported.

Both Doan and Asano play for German clubs.

“I believe it’s a historic moment, a historic victory. If I think about the development of Japanese soccer, thinking of players, for them this was a big surprise,” said Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu, who had five Germany-based players in his starting lineup and three, including the scorers, on the bench.

“They’re fighting in a very strong, tough, prestigious league. They’ve been building up their strength. In that context we believe that those divisions (Bundesliga and second division) have been contributing to the development of Japanese players,” Moriyasu said. “I’m very grateful for that.”

Ilkay Gündogan had given four-time champion Germany the lead with a first-half penalty. But Doan, who plays for Freiburg, pounced on a rebound to equalize in the 76th minute after Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer blocked a shot from Takumi Minamino.

Don’t judge this match by its score. Tunisia and Denmark battled to one of the more exciting nil-nil draws in World Cup history in their opening Group D encounter. Tunisia brought the energy to the game on Tuesday from the start with crunching tackles and players rallying the North African country’s countless fans in the Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar, Aljazeera reported. The Eagles of Carthage, as Tunisia are known, dominated the early stages as they hassled and pressured the Danes into a series of mistakes. However, as Denmark grew accustomed to the game’s intensity, they grew into the match with their talisman Christian Eriksen pulling the strings in midfield. Tunisia missed a couple of gilt-edged chances either side of half-time as their fans continued to heap pressure on Danish players with whistles and boos. The first fell to Issam Jebali, who forced a fine save from Kasper Schmeichel. The Danish shot-stopper spread himself wide, deflecting Jebali’s delicate finish away from goal. In the second half, Alissa Laidouni, the midfielder and Tunisia’s best player on the day, was able to break past the Danish defensive line but lacked the pace to rattle Schmeichel in a one-on-one. Laidouni eventually lost possession as he tried to square it across the goal.