World Cup 2022: Portugal v Ghana Betting Preview & Odds
World Cup Qatar 2022: Portugal v Ghana betting preview. Star-studded Portugal hopes to win their first-ever World Cup and starts their quest against African side Ghana at Stadium 974. Join us as we assess both teams and highlight the players to watch. We also make predictions in the popular Over / Under goals market and what we feel will be the final score.
Portugal has qualified for the last six consecutive editions of the World Cup. They would arguably be fielding their golden generation in addition to their generational talent, Cristiano Ronaldo, who helped them win their first-ever European title. Ghana’s best performance at the games was in 2010, when they would have become the first African nation to qualify for the last four, denied the honour by Luis Suarez’s mischievous handball.
Ghana has an experienced squad with many notable Premier League faces making this a tight game between rivals at Stadium 974. As always, we take you through all the essential data and players who can make a difference.
Portugal vs Ghana Betting Odds and Markets
The most popular markets are the full-time result or the over/under. See the latest odds-on offer in the tables below.
| Match Result Betting | ||
|---|---|---|
| Portugal Win | Draw | Ghana |
| 2/5 | 16/5 | 8/1 |
The bookmarkers have Portugal as the favourite, with 888sport offering 2/5 odds, the Africans are at 8/1 with bet365, and a draw is 16/5. On paper, it’s not a close game, but the Africans can use their physicality to muscle out a good result.
‘The Selection of the Shields’ were the inaugural winners of the UEFA Nations League have won three; Switzerland (4 – 0), Czech Republic (4 – 0) (2 – 0), lost two; Spain (1 – 0), Switzerland (1 – 0), and drawn one; Spain (1 – 0) in their last six games. They had to go through World Cup qualification playoffs beating Turkey (3 – 1) and North Macedonia (2 – 0) to book a place in Qatar.
The Black Stars have won five; Nicaragua (1 – 0), Nigeria (2 – 0), Benin (1 – 0) (3 – 0), Chile (1 – 0), and lost three; Brazil (3 – 0), Nigeria (2 – 1), and Qatar (2 – 1).
Over/Under Market
| Match Result Betting | |
|---|---|
| Over 2.5 Goals | Under 2.5 Goals |
| 11/10 | 8/11 |
Portugal has a solid defence led by Pepe and Ruben Dias, so we predict goals could come on the Ghanaian end and would likely not be many. The bookmakers support our claim, but it’s close with 8/11 for under 2.5 and 11/10 for over 2.5.
Player(s) to watch – Portugal
Cristiano Ronaldo is a player who needs no introduction. His achievements are well documented and would fill the article if we highlighted them. So instead, we are going to talk about his influence on his national team; the maestro played an integral part in Portugal’s win in the 2016 Euros and their UEFA Nations League. Ronaldo is the country’s record goalscorer with 117 goals. He has scored in every tournament he has played in, so we predict he will have a massive influence on the much-improved Portugal squad and put his club woes behind him.
⚽ 2006 ⚽ 2010 ⚽ 2014 ⚽ 2018 ❓ 2022
Will @Cristiano become the first male player to score at five World Cups?#FIFAWorldCup | #Qatar2022 pic.twitter.com/u4g6abMZmL
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) November 12, 2022
Player (s) to watch Ghana
Thomas Partey is the most famous name in the Black Stars squad. Most Arsenal fans will be rooting for the midfielder against Ronaldo, who plays for Man United, as Partey has been more than impressive for the Gunners, who he has helped to move to the top of the table. He has a defensive instinct, providing cover for the defence, and he is impossible to dribble past; he has excellent midfield IQ with precision passing and forward drives. He can also score goals; his two goals this season have been long shots from outside the box.
🎯 Thomas Partey’s goal in the North London Derby wins the Arsenal Goal of the Month. #afc pic.twitter.com/YsBMBdNy2y
— DailyAFC (@DailyAFC) November 14, 2022
Match Prediction: Portugal 3 – 1 Ghana
Portugal has been a great side, but the team’s talent has never been well-distributed. Fernando Santo’s squad boast sufficient depth and experience in all the areas of the pitch and a lethal striker in Ronaldo in front of the goal. Ghana could play this game by their strength by muscling out a result to try to make this a wrestle to get Portugal out of their best tactical match to have a chance in the game. We see Ronaldo captain his side to a 3 – 1 victory.
Portugal v Ghana, Group H, Stadium 974. Kick-off is at 4 pm (UK time).
Portugal Squad:
Goalkeepers: Diogo Costa (FC Porto), Jose Sa (Wolverhampton Wanderers FC), Rui Patricio (AS Roma).
Defenders: Diogo Dalot (Manchester United), Joao Cancelo (Manchester City), Danilo Pereira (Paris St Germain), Pepe (FC Porto), Ruben Dias (Manchester City), Antonio Silva (SL Benfica), Nuno Mendes (Paris St Germain), Raphael Guerreiro (Borussia Dortmund).
Midfielders: Joao Palhinha (Fulham FC), Ruben Neves (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Bernardo Silva (Manchester City), Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United), Joao Mario (SL Benfica), Matheus Nunes (Wolverhampton Wanderers FC), Vitinha (Paris St Germain), William Carvalho (Real Betis), Otavio (FC Porto).
Forwards: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United), Joao Felix (Atletico Madrid), Rafael Leao (AC Milan), Ricardo Horta (SC Braga), Goncalo Ramos (FC Benfica), Andre Silva (RB Leipzig).
Ghana Squad:
Goalkeepers: Lawrence Ati-Zigi (St. Gallen), Abdul Manaf Nurudeen (Eupen), Ibrahim Danlad (Asante Kotoko).
Defences: Daniel Amartey (Leicester), Abdul-Rahman Baba (Reading), Alexander Djiku (Strasbourg), Joseph Aidoo (Celta Vigo), Gideon Mensah (Bordeaux), Denis Odoi (Club Brugge), Tariq Lamptey (Brighton), Alidu Seidu (Clermont), Mohammed Salisu (Southampton).
Midfielders: Mohammed Kudus (Ajax), Thomas Partey (Arsenal), Andre Ayew (Al Saad), Elisha Owusu (Gent), Daniel-Kofi Kyereh (St Pauli), Daniel Afriyie Barnieh (Hearts of Oak), Salis Abdul Samed (Lens).
Forwards: Antoine Semenyo (Bristol City), Abdul Fatawu Issahaku (Sporting CP), Jordan Ayew (Crystal Palace), Kamaldeen Sulemana (Rennes), Osman Bukari (Red Star Belgrade), Felix Afena-Gyan (Roma), Inaki Williams (Athletic Bilbao), Kamal Sowah (Club Brugge).
You can learn more about placing World Cup bets on our World Cup betting page. In addition, our World Cup fixtures page will bring you all the latest match previews and betting tips. Fancy Yourself as an armchair manager? Check out our brand new World Cup squad builder we have created, especially for the World Cup.
