Cristiano Ronaldo Portugal vs Ghana match

All eyes are on Cristiano Ronaldo, even more than usual

CR7 celebration

Stade "974"

Fans have come to Stade "974" to support C7 and the Portuguese national team he has captained for a generation. But mostly it is. There may be no soccer jersey more ubiquitous than Ronaldo's No. 7, and on Thursday it appeared that many of those groups had congregated inside a makeshift square between a port and a motorway to Doha's international airport.

Portugal fans

Like others, Portugal fans wanted to know what Ronaldo would do next - and perhaps the last. He's 37 now, and suddenly out of a job, having crossed a burning bridge with Manchester United this month.

The fight left Ronaldo's reputation in and out of his career in flux. But nothing can fix an image and copy a legacy like the World Cup. And so, on a room-temperature Persian Gulf evening, Ronaldo took to the pitch against Ghana, fired into the crowd, waved, the crowd roared again, cameras closed in on his face and the soccer world turned his path and all. I felt right again.

Portogal VS Ghana

the most important events:

•  62':  Ronaldo falls inside the penalty area after a 50-50 challenge with Mohamed Salisu and the referee immediately points to the penalty spot.

•  73':  Ghana tied with a goal by Andre Ayew.

•  78': After a series of substitutions caused a short delay, Portugal ran down the field and regained the lead. Bruno Fernandes, in the center of the circle, picked Joao Félix and calmly raced home after cutting into the area from the right wing. Portugal 2, Ghana 1.

•  80': Rafael Leao, who was on the field for two minutes, took a free kick from the right and buried it. It looked as if he had offside, but the assistant referee's flag fell silent again. Portugal 3, Ghana 1.

•  87′: Ronaldo's No. 7 stepped onto the board of the fourth official in midfield, signaling that he would be substituted, and his walk to the sideline made him the cigar of victory. Felix explodes too. 

• Goal! Ghana runs left, Ousmane Bockarie runs down the middle and suddenly it's 3-2.

•  90′: 9 minutes of extra time, just another eyebrow-raising total on this course, seems to have rewritten the way totals are calculated.

At the end:

Portugal 3, Ghana 2. That was a bit scarier than Portugal would have liked, especially after going 3-1, you just have to end up with more goals than the other team. They did it here, and can walk away happy, as it leaves them top of the group after South Korea and Uruguay drew earlier today.