Cristiano Ronaldo has become first player to score in five different FIFA World Cup finals as Portugal began their campaign with a thrilling 3-2 victory over Ghana. Ronaldo was playing for the first time since his controversial television interview last week and his subsequent release by Manchester United following the comments. The 37-year-old scored the opener from the penalty spot to set the new World Cup record. Gulf News football experts discuss his achievement and look ahead to England’s match against the USA tomorrow night.
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00:00Hello and welcome to Golf News kicking back. Cristiano Ronaldo has set another record.
00:15He has become the first player ever to score in five different World Cup finals. He was
00:21on target today from the penalty spot as Portugal just about got past Ghana in a thriller. It
00:27was 3-2 after a very cagey first half where there was hardly any chances on goal. But
00:32second half, both the teams came out flying. They were awarded a soft penalty, I would
00:37say. I mean, it didn't look like there was much contact on Ronaldo at all, but he went
00:40down and he grabbed that ball as quick as he could. He put it down and there was no
00:44mistaking from the spot. Sean, I mean, it's another record for Ronaldo. How impressive
00:49has he been? But overall, how do you think his performance has been today? I mean, he
00:53was hardly in the game.
00:54You said it. You said it. Because he was hardly in the game. Barring that penalty and
01:01there was one save in a one-to-one situation with the goalkeeper, I think he was hardly
01:06in the game at all. So, I don't think he'll be proud of today's performance, really. But
01:11Portugal managed to get away with three points. I think they were lucky to get away with three
01:16points. I think if Ghana was a little more proactive in their approach, I think there
01:22might be a different result. Or at least they would have made a draw.
01:25Nick, look, we're all going to remember this game just purely for Ronaldo setting that
01:31record. But like we've both said, I mean, in the game, he missed that one-on-one chance
01:36in the first half. And in the second half, he had another chance. But he showed a bit
01:39of hesitation and the chance was gone. Overall, yeah, he's still setting records and breaking
01:44records and everything. But this is a shadow of the player that we know, isn't it?
01:49Agreed. And no way was it a penalty. What is VAR doing? It was ridiculous. If those
01:56are penalties, we'll be having half a dozen every match. Imagine the Premier League relating
02:02these policies to the Premier League. It was a ridiculous penalty decision. I was disappointed
02:11with Ronaldo, but he's still revered in the team, the main man. Who knows what's happening
02:18behind the scenes. But a win is a win in the first match. So, you know, Garner should
02:24have even at that last minute, that pantomime scenario behind you with the goalie rolling
02:32the ball. He just slipped. We've seen that a few times over the years in football and
02:36that would have been three all. You know, a flat first half. Suddenly, we've got a five-goal
02:41thriller in the second. Remarkable.
02:44It was like chalk and cheese, really. It was like two different games. And you're right,
02:47had that last second chance gone in, it would have been well-deserved, to be honest. I mean,
02:53Garner was really good. 61 ranking in FIFA, but from the African nations, they've been
02:59doing quite well. They've been getting through the group stages. They made it to the quarterfinals
03:03I think a couple of tournaments ago. And they were very unlucky today. I mean, they made
03:08their own problems. They conceded that second goal. It was a mistake from Thomas Partey,
03:13the Arsenal player. But then when Portugal went 3-1 up, it looked like it would be all
03:18over. But they stormed back again, made it 3-2. And like Nick says, he's behind you.
03:22That would have been one of the most funny goals. And there was a hilarious scene. The
03:27camera showed Ronaldo on the bench because he'd come off by then. And he had his hands
03:31on his head, thinking it's about to go in. He was looking very worried. But Chum, have
03:36you seen anything from Portugal tonight to say that they could reach the latter stage
03:41of the tournament?
03:42No, I'm seriously worried for them. Because if you're going to have this kind of defensive
03:48lapses in the knockout stage, it's goodbye to the tournament, really. And they can't
03:53afford to make these kind of mistakes against better teams. But even Garner, who was 61
03:59ranked, I mean, today's performance, they can hold their heads high simply because they
04:04went toe-to-toe with the 9th-ranked team. Not just that, they could have got away with
04:11a draw if that Williams hadn't slipped on the last minute. So, I would say, Garner is…
04:19Actually, I'm quite impressed with Garner. Because they are not a bad team. If you remember,
04:26some years ago when they came into the scene, they were this bundle of energy. They were
04:32all over the place with their flowing, aggressive football. And even in 2014, I remember, or
04:392010 it was, 2010 when they came to the quarter-final, they nearly made the semi-final if it was
04:44not for our Suarez handball in extra time. And the match went into penalties and Garner
04:51lost. Otherwise, Garner would have got into the semi-finals. But after 2014, it's not
04:56been good going for them. And this is the first time after 2014 they have qualified.
05:02And what they have shown us today is, there's still plenty of football in them. And some
05:06of the things I didn't like today, again, I don't understand why coaches change a player
05:11who has scored. The minute after he has scored, how do you take a player off? The momentum
05:17is with him. The confidence is with him. And the team itself is lifted by the player. Why
05:23do you take him off? That beats me. Today, I have seen that happen today also.
05:27Yeah, Shyam, spot on. You're absolutely right. There's another player who didn't score, but
05:31he was pulling all the strings. There was Mohamed Koudas, the guy from Ajax. He's been
05:36superb in the Champions League. He went close a couple of times. He set up their second
05:40goal. And as soon as he set up the goal, they dragged him off. I mean, you have to leave
05:44players like that on. I mean, there's 15 minutes to go. Who knows what could have happened
05:49had they left those people on. Unfortunately, they made the changes. Well, to their credit,
05:53the substitute did score one goal back. But in the end, Garner have come short. They did
05:58really well. They've got a strong English backbone in that team. They've got players
06:01who are playing in the Premier League. There's Thomas Partey from Arsenal. There's Jordan
06:05Ayoub, former West Ham player. There's a lad there from Leicester, someone from Southampton.
06:10The names, I've forgotten right now. But they could probably do really well. So they were
06:15unfortunate. Portugal were quite lucky. That was that game tonight. Earlier, we've seen
06:19another nil-nil draw when Uruguay were held by South Korea. Now, you know, the tournament
06:26started really well. We saw two goals in the opening game when Ecuador beat Qatar. And then
06:31we saw eight goals when England played Iran, 6-2 to them. But then since then, we've had four games
06:36without any goals. Nick, what's going on? Where's all the goals gone? Was it because of Spain that
06:40took seven the other day? And England six. Don't knock England. I think there are some cagey
06:49matches in these first of three group stages. And either there's an early goal and that opens
06:56it all up. And the other team, you know, you just can't lose match one. You've got to win
07:01match one to gain the momentum. So I think if it stays nil-nil for a while, I think there's
07:06probably an attitude from both sides. We can't risk it. Although the Uruguay-South Korea,
07:12it never looked like a nil-nil affair in my opinion. It was a lively game. South Korea
07:17took the initiative. You know, Uruguay came more into it second half, hit the woodwork twice. But,
07:24you know, last World Cup, just one nil-nil from my record. So I think it's how the first 15 minutes,
07:31how the game settles probably. And then there's a mindset, we can't lose the first game.
07:37Sharm, is there a fair factor coming in with these teams? They do seem more keen to just sit
07:42back and just go for the draw in the first game at least. Perhaps we'll see far more attacking
07:46football, obviously, when the second and third games are played in the group.
07:50I think Nick is spot on with this assessment because there is a don't-want-to-lose attitude,
07:58simply because opening games are notorious. I mean, you slip up there, sometimes you could end
08:03up losing. Like what happened to Germany, Germany is actually staring at a relegation and crashing
08:09out of the tournament if they don't win against Spain. That game is going to be quite interesting.
08:15Now, coming back to the South Korea-Uruguay match,
08:20despite being 0-0, it was a very, very interesting match, very absorbing match.
08:25I mean, in the end, it was the defences, both the defences held firm and they won. I mean,
08:32the defences won the day actually, which is why I think that 0-0 was a just result.
08:38It was a just result indeed. But yeah, they both came close, hit the woodwork.
08:42In fact, it all came alive in the last five or ten minutes where it was just,
08:46all hell broke loose. They just went for it. But in the end, it was another draw and all's not lost.
08:52They've both picked up a point, so they're both still well into the chance to make it to the
08:56round of 16. The first game of the day was Switzerland beating Cameroon 1-0. Now, tomorrow,
09:01we have four more games. The biggest one of the lot is England against the United States.
09:06England obviously started off with that impressive win against Iran, scoring six
09:10goals in the process. But Gareth Southgate was saying he wasn't very pleased with the defensive
09:15performance, allowing Iran to get two goals. Nick, England's going to be missing Harry Maguire
09:20tomorrow at 7.5. Do you think the Americans, who played really well against Wales, don't forget,
09:25you know, they were unlucky to finish with a 1-1 draw. Gareth Bale got a point for Wales
09:31from the penalty spot. But the Americans are pretty decent. They're very quick. They're
09:35organised. It's going to be a proper contest tomorrow for England, isn't it?
09:40Is Maguire confirmed to be out? Because I believe it wasn't a concussion injury,
09:45it was illness. Has that been announced by the manager or am I reading the wrong newspapers?
09:52I think he might be missing. That's the last thing I've seen. But if he's playing,
09:56even if he's playing, how do you think England are going to do tomorrow?
09:59No, I think we'll keep the momentum. You know, the manager, Southgate, could never say,
10:03well played. He's always got to hold the reins and said, two defensive mistakes,
10:09we shouldn't have let two. He can't say, brilliant, keep going. So he has to keep on
10:13top of all the squad, all the players. And I think we just, you know, maybe mix the squad up a bit,
10:20but not too much. The core played well. You know, it was Monday we played. It's Friday tomorrow.
10:27Let them play, see how we go. But let's keep the momentum. Let's keep the goals going and
10:33get Harry Kane on the score sheet. I can see, you know, don't lose. I can see, you know, 2-0. I can
10:43see the momentum carrying on. We were great on Monday and I just see us carrying that momentum
10:48on. You mentioned Harry Kane there, Nick. The good news is he's passed the fitness test. He
10:53went down quite badly against Iran, picked up what looked like a nasty ankle injury. We all know
10:59Harry Kane's ankles are made of glass. So, you know, the smallest of touches and he's out for
11:03the tournament. But Tasham, do you think Harry Kane can make, well, do you think he can get on
11:08the score sheet tomorrow against the Americans, considering how well they did play against Wales?
11:12I think it's time he got on the score sheet. See, even if Harry doesn't get on the score sheet,
11:19I think he will have, he will be an influential figure in the match. That's like we saw against
11:25Iran. And not just that, if the opportunity arises, why not? He would get on the score sheet.
11:31We know he's an excellent striker. So, I have no qualms about that. Certainly, he will get
11:39on the score sheet in one of these matches. Yeah, I think we'll all be keen to see how,
11:45well, that's the biggest game of the night. The other three games are Qatar are playing
11:48against Senegal, Netherlands are playing Ecuador and we have Wales against Iran.
11:53I think Qatar being the host nation, obviously, they'll need to show a big improvement,
11:59considering the way they, I mean, let's be honest, they were quite disappointing against
12:03Ecuador in the first game. They'll have to put up a big performance. But Senegal,
12:08that's a hard game. Nick, how do you think? Do you think there's any points there at all for Qatar?
12:14Well, let's see a bit more emotion from the players, crowds, you know, that emotion. Let's
12:20get behind them. The home team are always good to keep them alive in the match, in contention.
12:28I'd like to see the Qataris get real behind, go for it. You know, the first match was probably a
12:34bit nervous, negative. The first one on Sunday, kicking off the World Cup. Let's see a real
12:39attacking game, goals all round. Let Qatar go for it. That's why they're the host. We want to see
12:44them in there making a move. That would be good to see. And finally, Shaan, Netherlands
12:50against Ecuador. They've both had a game each. They've both won their first games. How do you
12:54see that one going tomorrow? I'm looking forward to that game because
12:59Netherlands wasn't too great in the last match, but Ecuador looked good. But then Ecuador played
13:05Qatar. So you didn't really get to assess the real quality in there. But tomorrow's match,
13:11I think we will know where this team stands. But I am still banking on the Dutch to win tomorrow.
13:19All right. Should be good. Four more games to look forward to tomorrow. We'll be back in the
13:22evening to see how they all got on. In the meantime, head to gulfnews.com for all the
13:26latest news and reviews. And of course, check us out on our social media channels.
13:31Thanks to the guys. And we shall see you again tomorrow night. Good night.