Ronaldo’s star will go out in Qatar: the presentation of the teams of the group H World Cup – 2022

In the last group H, which we will talk about, the national teams of Portugal, Uruguay, Ghana and South Korea are assembled. Everyone is burning with the desire to reach the playoffs, and, surprisingly, there are no clear favorites among them.

Portugal

One of the best generations of Portuguese footballers, led by Cristiano Ronaldo, at the end of his career, will arrive at the World Cup to finally try to get rid of the label of “losers”. The task is not easy, as Ronaldo is in big trouble. And not only in Manchester United, but also in the national team.

Without a doubt, Ronaldo is one of the greatest strikers of all time. Between his first goal for Portugal against Greece in Euro 2004 and his last double against Switzerland in June 2022, 18 years passed, making him a model of longevity. He holds many records, including being the top scorer in the history of men’s international football, scoring 117 goals in 191 official matches for Portugal. But that’s in the past. His brace against the Swiss in the second round of the Nations League on 5 June 2022 was his only goal in 10 games Portugal have played over the past year. Cristiano has only scored three goals for United this season.

Bruno Fernandes, Rafael Leao, Joao Felix, Joao Cancelo, Ruben Neves, Bernardo Silva, Vitinha and other players “on paper” make Portugal one of the best teams in this World Cup. But reality is always different from theory. Teammates support their “star captain” as much as they can.

“When you have a player like Cristiano, it’s only natural that sometimes you play for him, because he can win you a match in the last minutes. But you can’t become overly dependent on them as this can disrupt the team’s dynamics. If we do everything right, having Cristiano in our team will be a powerful weapon,” said international and Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva in an interview with the FIFA website.

Portugal have never won a World Cup and third place in 1966 was their best result.

“Our goal is to become champions, but we have to do it slowly, game by game. The focus is on our next practice, match, recovery, retraining, next game, and so on. In this way, we will get to the goal,” Silva hopes.

After beating France in 2016, the Portuguese won the 2019 UEFA Nations League but then lost in the round of 16 at Euro 2020 and have had poor performances in their last two Nations League editions. All this has led to criticism, most notably of head coach Fernando Santos and captain Ronaldo, which has intensified due to recent poor matches. The latest defeat at home to Spain in the League of Nations only worsened the situation. Santos was even offered to resign and Ronaldo to think about handing over the captaincy to younger players.

“I have a contract until 2024, and I intend to work it out to the end,” Santos snapped at a press conference after the match lost to the Spaniards.

The stakes are higher than ever, and anything short of reaching the final in Qatar could cost both Santos and Ronaldo dearly.

Portugal at the World Cups

Portugal made their World Cup debut in England in 1966 where they reached the semi-finals and finished third. This was her best result in the history of the World Cup. The last semi-final was in 2006, when the Portuguese lost 0-1 to the French: Since then, they have not progressed beyond the 1/8 finals. And in Brazil in 2014, they generally flew out at the group stage.

How did you qualify

Portugal had a hard time qualifying for Qatar. Having conceded from the Serbs in stoppage time in the last match of the group stage, the Portuguese then had to beat Turkey (3:1) and North Macedonia (2:0).

In the last edition of the UEFA Nations League, the Portuguese won three victories, drew once and suffered two defeats against Switzerland and Spain.

Uruguay

The national team of Uruguay, or as the fans call it “Celesta”, is considered the “dark horse” of this World Cup. The two-time world champions were once the dominant force in world football, and while their star no longer shines as brightly as it once did, they can still make a splash in this tournament thanks to a fusion of hardened veterans and energetic youngsters.

The 15-year reign of head coach Oscar Tabares ended in December 2021 after four consecutive World Cup qualifier losses. Celeste’s new coach was Diego Alonso, who managed to change the situation. Uruguay won four matches in a row and made it to Qatar. Alonso still has to find a balance between veterans and youth. Aging Luis Suarez, Edinson Cavani and Diego Godin are boosted by young talents Darwin Nunez, Federico Valverde and Rodrigo Bentancur.

“Our team, made up of experience and youth, has a lot of good qualities that will help us perform well at this World Cup,” said Luis Suarez.

Captain and centre-back Diego Godin, 38, is in the twilight of his career and has missed the September friendly against Iran and Canada due to injury. The Suárez-Cavani duo, veterans of three World Cups with 126 caps between them, have long been Uruguay’s trademark, but Alonso has serious doubts about whether he can build an attack around two 35-year-olds. Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez, 23, looks like a more suitable candidate to play in a tried and trusted 4-4-2 formation alongside Cavani or Suarez.

Uruguay at the World Cups

Uruguay won the first World Cup in 1930 and then won in 1950. In 2010, Uruguay reached the semi-finals, their best achievement since 1970.

After qualifying for the World Cup, Uruguay beat Mexico 3-0, drew 0-0 with the United States and thrashed Panama 5-0 in June, continuing their unbeaten streak under Alonso. After that, Celeste lost 0-1 to Iran and beat Canada 2-0 in September friendly matches.

Ghana

The Ghana national team can have a big impact on this World Cup, its head coach Otto Addo, known for his games in the Bundesliga, is convinced. For the Black Stars, as the fans call the team, this will be the fourth tournament.

Addo, who did not have much coaching experience, took over in Ghana in February 2022 after the sacking of Milovan Radevac due to an early exit from the African Cup of Nations.

“We can beat anyone. It depends on the players, not on me. It was their game that got us this far. They already have all the necessary skills regardless of who leads them. And my job is to put them in the right positions where they can play their best,” Addo told FIFA’s website.

For Ghana, the group stage of the World Cup will be fundamental, the lot brought them together with Uruguay. They face a rematch for the controversial 2010 quarter-final, which the South Americans won on penalties, preventing the Black Stars from becoming the first African team to reach the World Cup semi-finals.

“I’m sure our players remember this because it was a decisive game not only for Ghana but for all of Africa,” Addo added.

The national team has problems in the goalkeeper’s line. After Jojo Vollacott of Charlton and South African Richard Ofori of the South African Orlando Pirots were injured, less experienced goalkeepers received a call.

Young international stars include Club Brugge and AZ player Kamal Sova, 22, Lens midfielder Salis Abdul Samed, 23, and Brighton defender Tariq Lamptey, 22, who previously played for England.

Ghana at the World Cups

Ghana has participated in three World Cups in 2006, 2010 and 2014. In 2010, they became the third African team to reach the quarter-finals. The performance at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil was accompanied by quarrels over money, because of which Ghana flew out after the group stage.

How did you qualify

Ghana started qualifying for the World Cup from the second round of the CAF tournament due to its FIFA ranking. First place in the group went to her with a scandal, as the South African team demanded the intervention of FIFA after saying that the decisive penalty, which ensured Ghana’s victory in the match between them, was awarded in error. The complaints were rejected.

In the third round, thanks to a guest goal, Nigeria was passed.

After this success, Ghana received a painful reminder of the gulf between itself and top contenders for victory in Qatar when Brazil handily beat them 3-1 in a friendly in Le Havre in September.

South Korea

The players of South Korea, despite strong rivals in the group, promise their fans to play well at this World Cup.

“I know that many of our fans bite their nails, they have high hopes for us. We want to play football that they can be proud of. We will have at least three matches, so that’s a minimum of 270 minutes of football. I can promise we won’t let you down,” promises 26-year-old Olympiacos midfielder Hwang In Beom.

For the Daeju Warriors, as the fans call the national team, this will be the eleventh World Cup, so the South Koreans are no longer newcomers to the world championships. Hwang himself, by the way, remembers well the 2002 World Cup in his home country, when South Korea knocked out Italy in the 1/8 finals, which inspired him to become a footballer.

For the past four years, the national team has been led by the famous Portuguese coach Paulo Bento. “Under Bento, the players understand each other very well. We are a single entity, and within the team there is a camaraderie,” notes Hwang.

Tottenham captain and player Son Heung-min has traveled to Qatar with an injury that will force the 30-year-old to wear the protective mask he wore for his first training session with the team in Doha.

South Korea at the World Championships

South Korea takes part in the 11th World Cup. Their best result was in 2002, when former Russian national team coach Dutchman Guus Hiddink led the team to the semi-finals, where they lost to Germany. The Koreans again made the playoffs in 2010, but lost to Uruguay in the 1/8 finals.

How did you qualify

South Korea had little trouble getting out of a relatively uncomplicated group in the third round of the Asia preliminaries. They won eight and drew one of their first nine qualifying matches to secure a ticket to Qatar.

After qualifying, South Korea suffered a heavy 1-5 loss to Brazil in June, drawing with Costa Rica and beating Cameroon in September.