| Opponent | Score | Date |
|---|---|---|
North Macedonia
|
L | 29/03/2022 |
Turkey
|
L | 24/03/2022 |
Serbia
|
L | 14/11/2021 |
Republic of Ireland
|
L | 11/11/2021 |
Luxembourg
|
L | 12/10/2021 |
| Club | MP | W | D | L | GD | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Portugal |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 2 |
 Ghana |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 5 |
 Korea Republic |
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
 Uruguay |
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -2 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
Group H
02/12/2022
Stadium
STARTS AT
16:00 GMT+0100Education City Stadium
Portugal have been left frustrated at recent World Cups despite winning the Euros in 2016. Not being able to advance further than the Round of 16 stage, they’ll be hoping to progress further this time around in what could be their last major tournament with talisman Cristiano Ronaldo.
In World Cup qualifying, Portugal finished a frustrating second to Serbia in their group; this meant two separate playoff legs were required to progress to the Finals. A 3-1 victory over Turkey in the first was followed up by a relatively comfortable 2-0 defeat of North Macedonia to seal their passage to Qatar.
There is some serious talent in the Portuguese squad with João Cancelo, Bernardo Silva and Bruno Fernandes combining with the experience of Pepe, João Moutinho and of course, Ronaldo himself.
Fernando Santos has held a succession of managerial posts at clubs in Portugal as well as Greece. His résumé includes spells at Porto, AEK Athens, Sporting Lisbon and Benfica before moving into international management.
He took Greece to both the Finals of Euro 2012 and 2014 World Cup, achieving respectable positions on both occasions. When the call duly came from his native Portugal, Santos would guide them to a first ever major tournament triumph by winning Euro 2016.
Cristiano Ronaldo has been captain of the national side since 2008. His standing in the game is almost at legendary status, even as the 37-year-old is still playing at the top European level on a regular basis.
Ronaldo’s rise is well documented, having moved to Manchester United at just 17 from Sporting Lisbon. 3x Premier League titles and a Champions League medal later, he moved to Real Madrid for a world record £80 million – going on to break all sorts of records at the Bernabeu.
A transfer to Juventus produced two Serie A titles before a nostalgic return to Old Trafford in 2021 still saw the forward score 24 goals in a struggling side. His professionalism and sheer will to succeed is supreme, proven by his record of 700+ goals scored as he approaches 1,000 games.
When looking at Ronaldo’s Portugal stats, the numbers are again simply extraordinary. He is the country’s record appearance maker with nearly 200 caps and became the all-time international top goalscorer when netting his 110th goal in September 2021.
Among Portugal’s national team, their top scorers are:
Among Portugal’s national team, players with the most assists are:
all with 5 assists each.
Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 7 goals in 17 appearances at the World Cup Finals. He will be looking to break the Portuguese record set by the great Eusebio, who scored 9 World Cup goals in total.
Portugal have only won one major international tournament in their history – the European Championships in 2016. They were famously runners-up at Euro 2004, losing to Greece 1-0 on home soil and also achieved a third-place finish at the 1966 World Cup.
Ghana, Uruguay and South Korea have been drawn alongside Portugal in Group H of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Their first game is against Ghana on the 24th November.
