Portugal vs. Ghana World Cup lineup, starting 11 for Group H match at Qatar 2022

Dom Farrell

Portugal vs. Ghana World Cup lineup, starting 11 for Group H match at Qatar 2022 image

The noise will finally stop for Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo when Fernando Santos' side begin their 2022 World Cup campaign against Ghana.

Ronaldo's dramatic departure from Manchester United has dominated the build-up to the Selecao's Group H opener against Ghana and Piers Morgan's most recent interview subject will now look to do his talking on the pitch

Otto Addo's squad has seen plenty of turnover of late, meaning the tournament's lowest-ranked nation could be something of an unknown quantity.

Ghana head into the World Cup in patchy form, although they enjoyed a confidence-boosting friendly win over Switzerland in Abu Dhabi last week.

MORE: Portugal vs. Ghana live: World Cup score, highlights, result from 2022 Group H match

Portugal vs. Ghana lineups

Diogo Jota and Renato Sanches were the headline injury victims unable to make Santos' squad, but the veteran tactician can still call upon a plethora of attacking talent.

A 4-0 win over Nigeria in their final pre-tournament friendly suggested Portugal might be ready to throw off some of their more pragmatic stylings. Ronaldo sat out that game with illness but is ready to return.

Ghana will look to Mohammed Kudus for inspiration and the Ajax playmaker certainly will not be over-awed by facing Ronaldo.

In a friendly against Brazil earlier this year, he clashed with Neymar. "He’s not better than me. He’s just a higher profile player, that’s all,” Kudus told The Guardian. “He was defending his country and I was defending mine. I wasn’t about to let him push me around.

Below are the starting lineups for both teams for their match at Stadium 974 on Thursday, November 24.

Portugal starting 11

Portugal (4-1-2-1-2, right to left): 22. Costa (GK) — 20. Cancelo, 4. Dias, 13. Danilo Pereira, 5. Guerreiro — 18. Neves — 8. Fernandes, 25. Otavio — 10. Bernardo Silva — 7. Ronaldo, 11. Joao Felix

  • Injured: Nuno Mendes
  • Suspended: none

Ghana starting 11

Ghana (5-4-1, right to left): 1. Ati-Zigi (GK) — 26. Seidu, 23. Djiku, 18. Amartey, 4. Salisu, 17. Rahman — 20. Kudus, 5. Partey, 21. Abdul Samed, 10. A. Ayew — 19. Williams.

  • Injured: Sulemana, Kyereh
  • Suspended: none

Portugal vs. Ghana World Cup squads

Here are the 26 names on each team's squad lists at the World Cup in Qatar:

Portugal

Position Player Club Age Caps
Goalkeeper Rui Patricio Roma (ITA) 34 104
Goalkeeper Jose Sa Wolves (ENG) 29 0
Goalkeeper Diogo Costa Porto (POR) 23 7
Defender Pepe Porto (POR) 39 128
Defender Raphael Guerreiro Borussia Dortmund (GER) 28 56
Defender Diogo Dalot Manchester United (ENG) 23 6
Defender Antonio Silva Benfica (POR) 19 0
Defender Ruben Dias Manchester City (ENG) 25 39
Defender Nuno Mendes PSG (FRA) 20 16
Defender Danilo Pereira PSG (FRA) 31 63
Defender Joao Cancelo Manchester City (ENG) 28 37
Midfielder Otavio Porto (POR) 27 7
Midfielder Joao Palhinha Fulham (ENG) 27 15
Midfielder Bruno Fernandes Manchester United (ENG) 28 48
Midfielder Bernardo Silva Manchester City (ENG) 28 72
Midfielder Matheus Nunes Wolves (ENG) 24 9
Midfielder William Carvalho Real Betis (ESP) 30 75
Midfielder Vitinha PSG (FRA) 22 4
Midfielder Joao Mario Benfica (POR) 29 52
Midfielder Ruben Neves Wolves (ENG) 25 32
Forward Cristiano Ronaldo Manchester United (ENG) 37 191
Forward Ricardo Horta Braga (POR) 28 5
Forward Rafael Leao AC Milan (ITA) 23 11
Forward Joao Felix Atletico Madrid (SPA) 22 23
Forward Goncalo Ramos Benfica (POR) 21 0
Forward Andre Silva RB Leipzig (GER) 26 51

Ghana

Position Player Club Age Caps
Goalkeeper Abdul Manaf Nurudeen Eupen (BEL) 23 2
Goalkeeper Ibrahim Danlad Asante Kotoko (GHA) 19 0
Goalkeeper Lawrence Ati-Zigi St Gallen (SUI) 25 2
Defender Denis Odoi Club Brugge (BEL) 34 4
Defender Tariq Lamptey Brighton (ENG) 22 1
Defender Alidu Seidu Clermont (FRA) 22 1
Defender Daniel Amartey Leicester City (ENG) 27 45
Defender Joseph Aidoo Celta Vigo (SPA) 27 10
Defender Alexander Djiku Strasbourg (FRA) 28 18
Defender Mohammed Salisu Southampton (ENG) 23 2
Defender Baba Rahman Reading (ENG) 28 44
Defender Gideon Mensah Auxerre (FRA) 24 4
Midfielder Andre Ayew Al Sadd (QAT) 32 109
Midfielder Thomas Partey Arsenal (ENG) 29 40
Midfielder Elisha Owusu Gent (BEL) 25 1
Midfielder Salis Abdul Samed Lens (FRA) 22 0
Midfielder Mohammed Kudus Ajax (NED) 22 18
Midfielder Daniel-Kofi Kyereh Freiburg (GER) 26 3
Forward Daniel Afriyie Barnieh Hearts of Oak (GHA) 21 5
Forward Kamal Sowah Club Brugge (BEL) 22 0
Forward Abdul Fatawu Issahaku Sporting CP (POR) 18 8
Forward Osman Bukari Red Star (SER) 23 6
Forward Inaki Williams Athletic Bilbao (SPA) 28 2
Forward Antoine Semenyo Bristol City (ENG) 22 1
Forward Jordan Ayew Crystal Palace (ENG) 31 83
Forward Kamaldeen Sulemana Rennes (FRA) 20 11

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Dom Farrell

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Dom is the senior content producer for Sporting News UK. He previously worked as fan brands editor for Manchester City at Reach Plc. Prior to that, he built more than a decade of experience in the sports journalism industry, primarily for the Stats Perform and Press Association news agencies. Dom has covered major football events on location, including the entirety of Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup in Paris and St Petersburg respectively, along with numerous high-profile Premier League, Champions League and England international matches. Cricket and boxing are his other major sporting passions and he has covered the likes of Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, Wladimir Klitschko, Gennadiy Golovkin and Vasyl Lomachenko live from ringside.