“6-0 to Portugal”, “Ronny hat-trick” – Portugal fans make emphatic prediction as Cristiano Ronaldo is named in starting line-up to face Ghana in FIFA World Cup clash

Portugal fans have predicted that Cristiano Ronaldo will bag a hat-trick after the iconic forward was selected in their starting XI in their FIFA World Cup opener against Ghana.

Ronaldo, 37, is playing in his fifth FIFA World Cup tournament and is eager to lift the world's most illustrious trophy.

He is coming off the back of a tumultuous spell with Manchester United in which he mutually agreed to terminate his contract with the club just days before this match.

The Portugal captain scored just three goals in 16 appearances across competitions for United.

Selecao das Quinas fans predict that he replicates that tally in the clash with Ghana.

Ronaldo is the all-time international goalscorer with 117 goals in 191 appearances.

He has bagged seven goals in 17 FIFA World Cup appearances and is just two shy of Portuguese icon Eusebio's record of nine.

Portugal begin their World Cup campaign against a Ghana side who have won just six games in 2022.

Fernando Santos has chosen FC Porto shot-stopper, Diogo Costa, as his goalkeeper.

Meanwhile, Manchester City duo Joao Cancelo and Ruben Dias join Paris Saint-Germain's Danilo Pereira and Borussia Dortmund's Raphael Guerreiro in defense.

Wolverhampton Wanderers' Ruben Neves is the pivot in midfield, with Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes and Porto's Otavio in front of him.

City's Bernardo Silva is in attacking midfield behind an intriguing front two of Cristiano Ronaldo and Atletico Madrid's Joao Felix.

Selecao das Quinas are in form, winning six of their nine fixtures in 2022 so far.

Portugal can take the ascendancy in Group H with a win following Uruguay's 0-0 draw with South Korea earlier in the day.

Here are some reactions from elated Portuguese fans who are banking on Cristiano Ronaldo delivering the goods:

Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo galvanizes his teammates ahead of their FIFA World Cup opener

Cristiano Ronaldo sent his Portugal teammates a message ahead of their FIFA World Cup opener against Ghana.

The iconic forward told his compatriots that nothing is impossible as they target success at the international tournament in Qatar.

About the author

Matthew is a European and international football journalist at Sportskeeda who has been covering news, rumors and match reports for close to 3 years. Learning creative writing from University of Essex, he combined his skills and passion for football take up writing for the sport professionally.

Matthew always strives to go beyond a story and offer unique and lesser-known insights, while maintaining an unbiased tone in his articles. His reporting exploits at the company have helped him gain a humungous readership of 25 million, with one of his articles raking in a whopping 724,000 reads.

A Manchester United fan since childhood, Matthew admired Sir Alex Ferguson for his loyalty and brave coaching style. His favorite footballer is Thierry Henry, believing the Frenchman to be uniquely talented and charismatic. An ardent Three Lions fan, England's penalty shootout win over Colombia in 2018 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment of all time, and he believes that Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe will have a Ballon d’Or duopoly after Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

He also follows his local EFL League Two clubs AFC Wimbledon and Sutton United, and spends his free time watching and writing about professional wrestling. He also likes to work out, watch movies and go for night outs.

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