In what is likely to be Cristiano Ronaldo's last World Cup, Portugal were aiming to finally win the biggest global prize at the Qatar 2022 finals.
Portugal have never reached a World Cup final, and the iconic trophy remains one of the few accolades to elude their 37-year-old talisman, which was something he was desperate to change.
The 2016 European champions have been in mixed form over the past 12 months and had to secure their place in the finals via the playoffs, following a poor end to their qualifying campaign.
Fernando Santos' side found themselves in a tricky World Cup group but having come through it unscathed, they will have believed they were more than capable of putting together a good run of results to mount a challenge, and with Ronaldo, anything is always possible.
But, in the end, the dream was ended in shocking fashion. We explain more.
MORE: Complete 2022 World Cup schedule | How much prize money is up for grabs in Qatar?
Portugal 2022 World Cup schedule
Portugal's quest for a maiden World Cup saw them play African giants Ghana first up in Doha.
A crunch match against Uruguay was next before Portugal rounded out group play with a game against South Korea to top their group.
They destroyed Switzerland in the Round of 16 on December 6, winning 6-1 to emphatically move on towards a quarterfinal clash with Morocco.
They would have been confident of beating the Atlas Lions, but they were stunned in the last eight — Morocco becoming the first-ever African nation to make it to the semifinals of a World Cup, as Youssef En-Nesyri's goal after 42 minutes dumped Portugal and Ronaldo out.
MORE: Ronaldo's World Cup dream is over, will he retire?
Group H match schedule
| Date | Match | Stadium |
| Thu, Nov. 24 | Portugal 3 Ghana 2 | Stadium 974 |
| Mon, Nov. 28 | Portugal 2 Uruguay 0 | Lusail Stadium |
| Fri, Dec. 2 | Portugal 1 South Korea 2 | Education City Stadium |
Knockout round schedule, as Portugal finished 1st in Group H
| Date | Stage | Match | Stadium |
| Tue, Dec. 6 | Round of 16 | Portugal 6 Switzerland 1 | Lusail Stadium |
| Sat, Dec. 10 | Quarterfinals | Morocco 1 Portugal 0 | Al Thumama Stadium |
Portugal World Cup group: Group H
A deceivingly good collection of sides, Group H shaped up as one of the tighter and intriguing battles in Qatar.
While Portugal brought the most star power, Ghana, Uruguay and South Korea all had their big players too.
All four sides have enjoyed previous good runs at World Cups.
On paper, Portugal were the leading lights to top the group, and so it proved. They went into the final game with qualification already assured and despite a final-day defeat against South Korea, they went through as winners.
🗣️ "I knew Portugal needed me and I showed I am here" 💪
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) November 19, 2021
🇵🇹 #OnThisDay in 2013, @Cristiano produced one of the greatest performances in #WCQ history, settling a #WorldCup play-off against Sweden with a stunning second-half hat-trick 🔥pic.twitter.com/EjkT61wpwo
World Cup Group H standings
| Team | PTS | GP | W | L | D | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| H1: Portugal Q | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 4 | +2 |
| H2: South Korea Q | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| H3: Uruguay | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| H4: Ghana | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 7 | -2 |
How to watch the World Cup
Here's how to watch the World Cup action in the major global territories:
| Territory | TV | Streaming |
| US | FOX/FS1/Telemundo (Spanish)/Universo (Spanish) | fuboTV, Fox Sports app, Telemundo En Vivo |
| Canada | TSN | TSN GO |
| UK | BBC/ITV/STV | BBC iPlayer, ITVX, STV Player |
| Australia | SBS | SBS On Demand |
| India | Sports18 | Voot TV |
Qatar World Cup game times
Qatar resides in the Arabian Standard Time Zone, which is GMT +3. World Cup 2022 kickoff times in the major global territories are:
Group stage:
- 1:00 p.m. (local) / 5:00 a.m. (ET) / 10:00 a.m. (GMT) / 9:00 p.m. (AEDT) / 3:30 p.m. (IST)
- 4:00 p.m. (local) / 8:00 a.m. (ET) / 1:00 p.m. (GMT) / 12:00 a.m. (AEDT) / 6:30 p.m. (IST)
- 7:00 p.m. (local) / 11:00 a.m. (ET) / 4:00 p.m. (GMT) / 3:00 a.m. (AEDT) / 9:30 p.m. (IST)
- 10:00 p.m. (local) / 2:00 p.m. (ET) / 7:00 p.m. (GMT) / 6:00 a.m. (AEDT) / 12:30 a.m. (IST)
Knockout stage (ET):
- 6:00 p.m. (local) / 10:00 a.m. (ET) / 3:00 p.m. (GMT) / 2:00 a.m. (AEDT) / 8:30 p.m. (IST) (Round of 16, Quarterfinals, Third Place Match, Final)
- 10:00 p.m. (local) / 2:00 p.m. (ET) / 7:00 p.m. (GMT) / 6:00 a.m. (AEDT) / 12:30 a.m. (IST) (Round of 16, Quarterfinals, Semifinals)
