World Cup Day 5 Live - Portugal vs Ghana, Brazil vs Serbia

There are two games going down this evening.

• In Group H by 5pm, its Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal vs Thomas Partey's Ghana

• In Group G by 8pm, its the 5-time World champions Brazil, taking on Serbia led by Aleksandr Mitrovic

Meanwhile, here a quick recap of the first two games of the day:

In Group G: Breel Embolo scored against his country of birth to give Switzerland a 1-0 win over Cameroon

In Group H: Two-time champions Uruguay shared the spoils with 2002 semi-finalist South Korea

Prediction, head-to-head, players to watch out for, match form, the coaches, read about our match preview by clicking here: Portugal vs Ghana

As is customary, next up are the starting XI for both teams

PORTUGAL STARTING XI: Unsurprisingly leading the Selecao in attack tonight is the one, the only Cristiano Ronaldo

GHANA STARTING XI: Mohamed Kudus, Inaki Williams and Thomas Partey all in the Black Stars squad

HEAD-TO-HEAD

The last time Portugal and Ghana played was at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. Portugal ended up winning that one 2-1. Of course, Cristiano Ronaldo scored the winner

FUN FACT:

Ghana’s Jordan Ayew will hope to be their good luck charm. Although starting off the bench today, Ghana have lost only once in the 14 games he scored (W12, D1).

• Portugal are making their sixth successive World Cup campaign and eighth overall. Their best finish was in 1966 when Eusebio led them to a bronze medal finish.
• Ghana boast the joint-best finish by an African country in the competition’s history after their 2010 World Cup quarter-finals appearance. They are making their fourth appearance at the World Cup finals after missing out on the 2018 edition.

1' Underway now at the Stadium 974 in Doha

4' Portugal gets the first croner kick of the match but Otavio's eventual finish is wayward. Goal kick to Ghana

SO CLOSE! Cristiano Ronaldo is put through on goal, however, his first touch is heavy and Lawrence At-Zigi prevents his attempt from going in

Portugal's build up Raphael Gurriero square a pass, but it is quickly sent into the corner kick

Another close one from Cristiano Ronaldo, however, his succeeding header inside the penalty area after that corner kick goes out for a Ghana goalkick

Portugal gets another brilliant opportunity to take the lead, but Joao Felix balloons Bernado Silva pass to him

30' We've had half an hour rolled by in this game, but we are yet to see the first goal of the game.

STATS SO FAR

Goal Attempts: 5-0

On Target: 1-0

Blocked Shots: 1-0

Free kicks: 5-4

Corner kicks: 2-0

Yellow Cards: 0-0

NO GOAL! Cristiano Ronaldo has the the ball is in the back of the net but it’s immediately ruled out by referee due to a foul in the build up, much to the disappointment of Portugal.

A quick look at that earlier Ronaldo attempt that Lawrence Ati-Zigi prevented from going in. The best for Portugal since the game started

Back-to-back corner kicks for Ghana in the space of a minute, and both are cleared by Portugal's defence

Portugal build-up play ends with the ball well over the bar as Otavio lofts Joao Cancelo's pass out of play. Goal kick to Ghana

Mohammed Kudus is shown the first YELLOW CARD of the day for a rough tackle on Joao Cancelo

There will be two minutes of added time

MATCH POSSESSION AT HALF-TIME:

Portugal 69%-31% Ghana

46' And we're back with the second 45 minutes of this game. Portugal 0-0 Ghana

A horrible challenge on Otavio see Andre Ayew pick up the second YELLOW CARD of the game

Ghana's corner kick is cleared by Portugal

CLOSE! Mohammed Kudus has seen Ghana have their first shot in the game, however, his attempt is not threatening enough for Diogo Costa

Its the first substitution of the game for either teams, and its Portugal

Alidu Seidu goes into the referee's book with a YELLOW CARD for a tackle on Joao Felix

60' An hour gone on the clock and its still all level at the Stadium 974

STATS SO FAR

Goal Attempts: 7-2

On Target: 2-0

Blocked Shots: 2-0

Free kicks: 16-10

Corner kicks: 3-3

Yellow Cards: 0-3

Cristiano Ronaldo is brought down in the box, and ITS A PENALTY FOR PORTUGAL!

A double substitution for Ghana

Ghana gets their first attempt on target, but Diogo Costa comfortably saves Mohammed Kudus' attempt

A double substitution for Ghana

Portugal with another change

Cristiano Ronaldo comes close to scoring another one for Portugal, but he is stopped by Lawrence Ati-Zigi, and eventually flagged for offside

Its a triple change for Portugal

The referee seperates a fracas and issues YELLOW CARDS to Ghana's Inaki Williams and Portugal's Danilo Pereira

There will be 9 minutes of added time

OH MY! Osman Bukari wastes a big chance. He sends his attempt narrowly over the crossbar

What an end to that game that was! 5 goals in the second half with lots of wasted chances after a goalless first half

Next up is our coverage on Brazil vs Serbia - the final game of the first round of group games

• Coverage starts by 7:30 pm
• Match kicks off by 8:00 pm

You can read our preview for this match by clicking here: Brazil vs Serbia

HEAD-TO-HEAD

Jun 2018: Serbia 0-2 Brazil (2018 FIFA World Cup)

Jun 2014: Brazil 1-0 Serbia (Int'l Friendly)

And here is how the both teams will line up tonight

BRAZIL STARTING XI: Taking no chances, Tite puts out a very strong squad tonight

SERBIA STARTING XI: Lots of rhyming names for the Serbs, but notable are Aleksandr Mitrovic and Dusan Tadic leading the attack

JUST TO NOTE:

Six of Serbia’s last seven World Cup games have been settled by a single-goal margin.

Brazil go into this, hoping that they can extend a 15-match unbeaten World Cup group stage run. Their previous 15 games at the World Cup group stages have seen them win 12 and draw 3 games.
ALSO:
The last time Brazil lost a match was in that final of the Copa America with Argentina, in July 2021

1' We now underway at the 88,966-capacity Lusail Iconic Stadium

Neymar sends a shot on target directly from the corner kick, and Vanja Milinkovic-Savic pushes it out for another corner kick. The resultant corner is sent towards goal again but this time, the Serbian goalkeeper latches on to it.

WHAT A SAVE! Brazil almost get their first after Thiago Silva put Vinicius Junior through on goal, however, Vanja Milinkovic-Savic is out quick enough to prevent the Real Madrid man from converting the chance

30' Half an hour gone at the Lusail Stadium, and both Brazil and Serbia have suceeded in keeping each other at bay

STATS SO FAR

Goal Attempts: 3-0

On Target: 2-0

Blocked Shots: 1-0

Free kicks: 6-4

Corner kicks: 3-0

Yellow Cards: 0-1

HOW DID HE MISS THAT! Raphinha combines beautifully with Lucas Paqueta to beat Serbia's defence with a 1-2 and goes through on goal, but his left-footed shot is to weak to trouble Vanja Milinkovic-Savic

SOME FACT:
No matter how this one pans out today, Tite, becomes the first manager to lead Brazil at back-to-back World Cups since Tele Santana in 1982 and 1986.

45' There 1 additional minute for play

46' Underway with the second half. Brazil 0-0 Serbia

CLOSE! What an attempt by Alex Sandro who latches on to an accurate pass hits the goalkeeper with his long-range shot. Unluckily, it hits the left post.

70' Crazy second half its been so far. Brazil still lead thanks to that goal by Richarlison in the 62nd minute

STATS SO FAR

Goal Attempts: 17-3

On Target: 7-0

Blocked Shots: 4-0

Free kicks: 12-4

Corner kicks: 5-3

Yellow Cards: 0-3

What a spectacle. Take a bow Richarlison

Substitution for Brazil: And now, Richarlison takes a bow. What a second half he's given us. Gabriel Jesus comes on in his stead. Antony also replaced Neymar

HITS THE CROSSBAR! Casemiro runs towards the goal and shoots from the edge of the box, but its against the crossbar. Unlucky for the Manchester United midfielder, that should have been number 3 for Brazil

Substitution for Serbia: Its the Serbs final change of the night and it ends here for Aleksandr Mitrovic. Nemanja Miksomovic is the person who comes on

Substitution for Brazil: Its the final change for the South Americans, and Gabriel Martinelli comes on for Raphinha

90' There will be 7 minutes of added time in this game

Its the last game of the first round of the group stages. What a goal by Richarlison to wrap it up. Can we see something better in the second round?

Here is a quick round up of first set of group stage matches:

GROUP A

Qatar 0-2 Ecuador

Senegal 0-2 Netherlands
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GROUP B

England 6-2 Iran

USA 1-1 Wales
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GROUP C

Argentina 1-2 Saudi Arabia

Mexico 0-0 Poland
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GROUP D

Denmark 0-0 Tunisia

France 4-1 Australia
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GROUP E

Germany 1-2 Japan

Spain 7-0 Costa Rica
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GROUP F

Morocco 0-0 Croatia

Belgium 1-0 Canada
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GROUP G

Switzerland 1-0 Cameroon

Brazil 2-0 Serbia
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GROUP H

Uruguay 0-0 South Korea

Portugal 3-2 Ghana

Thank you for sticking around for the games today. Tomorrow is a new day. Do keep up with us for live updates from Qatar. For now, its goodnight from me!