Qatar World Cup 2022 Day 5: Ronaldo becomes 1st male player to score at 5 World Cups

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Neymar leads Brazil in World Cup opener, Mitrovic starts for Serbia

Neymar leads an attack-minded Brazil side in their opening Group G game at the World Cup against Serbia at Doha's Lusail Stadium on Thursday.

The Paris Saint-Germain superstar, the world's most expensive player, comes into his third World Cup needing just two more goals to equal Pele's all-time record tally of 77 for the Selecao.

He will play in the number 10 role for the tournament favourites in support of Richarlison, with Raphinha and Vinicius Junior on the wings.

Juventus duo Dusan Vlahovic and Filip Kostic are only named as substitutes for Serbia after carrying injuries into the tournament.

However, Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic has recovered from his own fitness worries to lead the attack for Dragan Stojkovic's dangerous outfit, who topped their qualifying group ahead of Portugal.

Portugal 3 - 2 Ghana

Despite scoring its second goal, Ghana lost to Portugal on Thursday after an incredible second half.

Portugal 3 - 1 Ghana

The heated game saw scores coming in minutes apart in the second half, as Portugal's Joao Felix and Rafael Leao put two more in the net right after Ghana's goal.

RAFAEL LEAO!! 🇵🇹

Portugal making sure of all three points with a 3-1 lead over Ghana 😅#FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/2MGSOwg3Sl

— Football Daily (@footballdaily) November 24, 2022

Portugal 1 - 1 Ghana

Ghana's Andre Ayew came in minutes later after Cristiano Ronaldo's historic goal to score against Portugal in the second half.

Ghana's first goal against Portugal is amazing, amazing, very cool

pic.twitter.com/obcZtT0Jbc

— Leo Messi (@Messi_10_30) November 24, 2022

Portugal 1 - 0 Ghana as Ronaldo makes history

Cristiano Ronaldo scored a penalty goal against Ghana in the game's second half, making him the first man to score in five World Cups.

Half time: Portugal 0 - 0 Ghana

Cristiano Ronaldo had the ball in the net and spurned two early chances in a goalless first half as Portugal dominated Ghana but were unable to make a breakthrough in their World Cup Group H match at the Stadium 974 on Thursday.

Cristiano Ronaldo first half vs Ghana:

• 1 shot on target.
• 82% pass accuracy.
• 10/12 accurate Passes
• 20 touches.
• 1 foul won.
• 2 aeriel duels won.
• 1 clearance.
• 1 headed clearance.
• 1 recovery. pic.twitter.com/ymjiAqJAgv

— CristianoXtra (@CristianoXtra_) November 24, 2022

The 37-year-old Portugal captain might have had two goals inside the opening 15 minutes but missed both opportunities. He found the net from close range in the 31st minute but only after the referee had blown his whistle for an infringement against him.

Who is Ghanim Al Muftah, star of the Qatar World Cup 2022 opening ceremony?

Ghanim Al Muftah stole the show at the opening ceremony of Qatar World Cup 2022, sharing the stage with American actor Morgan Freeman. But who is Ghanim Al Muftah?

Ghanim is a young activist and YouTuber, very well-known in the Gulf. He was born with a rare condition known as Caudal Regression Syndrome. But his condition could not stop his dreams.

Read full story here.

Son and Suarez subdued in Uruguay-Korea World Cup stalemate

The returning Son Heung-min could not inspire South Korea as the Tigers of Asia started their World Cup Group H campaign with a 0-0 draw against Uruguay in Qatar on Thursday.

Uruguay captain Diego Godin and Real Madrid midfielder Federico Valverde came closest to breaking the deadlock when hitting the woodwork in each half, while Hwang Ui-jo wasted Korea's best chance, skying a shot from 10 yards out with only the goalkeeper to beat.

There wasn't a single shot on target in the entire game between Uruguay and South Korea ❌

The first time that has happened in a #FIFAWorldCup match this century 🤯 pic.twitter.com/ACn0AZ2zYS

— LiveScore (@livescore) November 24, 2022

It was a game of few chances as neither Son on one side nor Uruguay's fearsome strikers Luis Suarez, Darwin Nunez and Edinson Cavani could find a clear opening.

With matches against Ghana and group favourites Portugal to come, both sides seemed to be more intent on not losing than pushing for the win at the Education City stadium in Doha.

Half time: Uruguay 0 - 0 South Korea

The first half of Thursday's World Cup Group H match between Uruguay and South Korea ended 0-0 at halftime, with the South American side guilty of wasting opportunities.

Federico Valverde sent a volley wide and Darwin Nunez failed to connect with a pass in the penalty box. Later, Diego Godin's header struck the post. For South Korea, Hwang Ui-jo scuffed their best chance by shooting over the bar from close range.

(Reuters)

🇺🇾 Uruguay 0 - 0 South Korea 🇰🇷

South Korea's Hwang Ui-jo found himself free in the middle of Uruguay's box and has somehow hit his shot over the bar, when it was easier to score.

Still nil-nil.

⚽ LIVE match blog: https://t.co/lRkSSygX4b pic.twitter.com/P0ZnVpXwJE

— AJE Sport (@AJE_Sport) November 24, 2022

Son starts for South Korea against Uruguay in World Cup despite surgery

South Korea talisman Son Heung-min starts his side's opening World Cup match against Uruguay in Qatar on Thursday despite undergoing facial surgery earlier this month.

Portuguese coach Paulo Bento picked his captain after deeming the Tottenham forward "able to play" despite training with a protective face mask in Doha.

Son fractured his eye socket in a collision during a Champions League match against Marseille at the beginning of the month.

But he underwent successful surgery and declared himself fit and available for his country.

Uruguay coach Diego Alonso has selected Luis Suarez up front, with fellow veteran Edinson Cavani on the bench.

Facundo Pellistri starts at right wing despite not playing a single club match for Manchester United this season, with Liverpool's Darwin Nunez also selected in the front three.

Starting line-ups in the World Cup Group H match between Uruguay and South Korea in Doha's Education City stadium on Thursday. Kick-off is at 4:oo PM (1300 GMT).

Soccer-Swiss striker Embolo refuses to celebrate goal against Cameroon

Switzerland striker Breel Embolo scored against the land of his birth Cameroon in their World Cup Group G clash at the Al Janoub Stadium on Thursday but refused to celebrate and looked almost apologetic as his team mates rushed to congratulate him.

Breel Embolo's goal gave Switzerland the win against Cameroon! 🇨🇭

Born in Cameroon, he didn't celebrate the winner 🙏#BBCFootball #BBCWorldCup pic.twitter.com/oMYI1UNfOC

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) November 24, 2022

Embolo swept home a Xherdan Shaqiri cross to give the Swiss the lead in the 48th minute after they struggled to break the deadlock in the first half and were second best in the game, which was 0-0 at the break.

The 25-year-old striker, who was born in Yaounde but raised in Basel, stood still with an apologetic frown on his face after he scored while the Switzerland players celebrated around him.

Breel Embolo wouldn't celebrate against Cameroon, the country of his birth 🙏 pic.twitter.com/JIguoa32AI

— GOAL (@goal) November 24, 2022

The goal was a first shot on target for the Swiss, who had battled to contain the African side in the opening 45 minutes.

(Reuters)

Embolo fires Swiss to victory over Cameroon at World Cup

Breel Embolo fired Switzerland to a 1-0 win over Cameroon in the opening World Cup Group G fixture on Thursday.

Embolo's close-range finish put Switzerland ahead in the 48th minute, with the Cameroon-born Monaco striker opening not to celebrate the goal at the Al Janoub Stadium in Doha.

It was Cameroon's eighth successive defeat at the World Cup, leaving them without a win in the event since 2002.

Switzerland's Breel Embolo scores first goal against Cameroon in second half

Embolo, who was born in Cameroon's capital Yaounde, lived in France and later relocated to Switzerland.

He is playing in his second World Cup, having helped the Swiss reach the round of 16 at the 2018 tournament.

Half time: Switzerland 0 - 0 Cameroon

Switzerland and Cameroon were deadlocked at 0-0 by halftime in their World Cup Group G match on Thursday with the Africans having carved out the clearest opportunities at the Al Janoub Stadium.

Karl Toko Ekambi, Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting and Martin Hongla all had chances as Cameroon hit their opponents on the break but the first shot went over the bar and Swiss goalkeeper Yann Sommer was equal to the other two.

(Reuters)

Swiss captain Xhaka sees no need to copy Germany's armband protest

Switzerland captain Granit Xhaka said Wednesday his side did not have to copy Germany's mouth-covering protest against FIFA's stance on rainbow-themed armbands.

Germany lined up for their team photo before a shock 2-1 defeat to Japan making the gesture after they abandoned plans for skipper Manuel Neuer to wear the "OneLove" armband following threats of on-field disciplinary action by FIFA.

"I don't think we need to do anything as the Swiss team. We need to respect the rules and concentrate on our football, that's all I intend to do," captain Xhaka told reporters ahead of his team's Group G opener against Cameroon on Thursday.

"We're here to play football and not hand out lessons to anyone."

A representative of the Swiss football federation had previously said Xhaka "would have liked" to wear the armband but would instead wear one provided by FIFA with an anti-racist message.

Favourites Brazil kick off World Cup bid

Brazil will be wary of a dangerous Serbian side when the teams meet at Lusail Stadium, especially after seeing Argentina suffer a shock defeat against Saudi Arabia on Tuesday at the same venue and Germany lose to Japan on Wednesday.

The Brazilians have arrived in Qatar hoping for a repeat of what happened at the last World Cup held in Asia two decades ago, when they won their fifth title in Japan.

Tite's side can rely on a Neymar who has been in ominous form for Paris Saint-Germain, but the world's most expensive player is surrounded by other outstanding attackers ready to share the burden, such as Real Madrid duo Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo.

🎙Thiago Silva:

“Neymar has arrived to this competition in good form. A better prepared Neymar has arrived than in the last World Cups.” pic.twitter.com/7cp1VKJA7Q

— Brasil Football 🇧🇷 (@BrasilEdition) November 23, 2022

"In my opinion these players will help Neymar because they can divide up the responsibility and create space for him," said veteran Brazil skipper Thiago Silva.

"The atmosphere in the squad is super healthy. The mixture of young players and more experienced ones creates a great connection," he added.

However, Serbia appear a more dangerous proposition than four years ago, when they also faced Brazil in the group stage but lost 2-0 and went home in the first round.

"We are afraid of nobody in the world, not even Brazil," insisted Serbia coach Dragan Stojkovic, who was hopeful that prolific Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic would be fit for the Group G opener.

🗣 "Did you say four strikers will play tomorrow? It's over for us, it's finished." 😂

Dragan Stojković praises Brazil's quality but is focused on Serbia's tactics pic.twitter.com/vdFIJBU3MB

— Football Daily (@footballdaily) November 23, 2022

Germany-Japan World Cup match draws 9.2 million German viewers

Some 9.2 million people tuned in to broadcaster ARD's coverage to see Germany play Japan in the World Cup on Wednesday, according to data from audience measurement firm AGF.

That compares with 25.96 million viewers during Germany's opening match against Mexico in the 2018 World Cup.

Wednesday's match, in which Japan scored a stunning 2-1 upset over four-times champions Germany, took place at 2 p.m. local time, when many people were at work. The German team's opening match in 2018 was broadcast at 5 p.m.

(Reuters)

Senegal's Kouyate likely out of World Cup game against Qatar

Senegal midfielder Cheikhou Kouyate is likely to miss the game against host Qatar at the World Cup because of a right hamstring injury, his team said Wednesday.

Kouyate was "probably" out of Senegal's second Group A game on Friday, the team said, forcing the African champion to reshuffle its lineup again having already lost forward Sadio Mane to injury days before the tournament started.

Kouyate, a key central midfielder for Senegal, went off on a stretcher in the second half of his team's opening 2-0 loss to the Netherlands after he went up for a header and came down clutching his right thigh.

Defender Abdou Diallo was also injured and came off against the Netherlands. Senegal said Diallo had muscle cramps but was expected to return to training on Wednesday.

𝘾𝙊𝙈𝙈𝙐𝙉𝙄𝙌𝙐𝙀́ 𝙁𝙎𝙁 | Situation médicale des joueurs Abdou Diallo et Cheikhou Kouyaté, sortis sur blessure lors du match contre les Pays-Bas. #FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/wdWoACpuc8

— FSF (@Fsfofficielle) November 22, 2022

This year's African Cup of Nations winner came to the World Cup with high hopes of making an impression but now is in a scrap to qualify for the knockout stage after losing to the Dutch through two late goals.

Host Qatar lost 2-0 to Ecuador in the opening game of the World Cup and is also desperate for a win in its second group match.