Portugal v Ghana: Rankings point to routine win

Portugal v Ghana betting tips, odds and preview

Portugal have the chance to ease themselves into the World Cup 2022 when they face the lowest-ranked team at the finals in Ghana.

Portugal winning odds of 2/5 suggest a routine win for one of the teams with genuine hopes of going all the way despite their modest World Cup record while Ghana are 9/1 for an upset.

Thursday’s Group H match at Stadium 974 in Doha kicks off at 4pm and is live on ITV.

Big test for Ghana’s young guns

Ghana’s world ranking of 61st is 10 below the next worst World Cup team in Saudi Arabia so they will have to defy expectations to reach the last 16.

They also have the tournament’s youngest squad and made hard work of qualifying when they were the lowest scorers in the African group stage with seven goals in six matches.

They only managed one goal in two legs of their third-round meeting with Nigeria too but that proved enough to book their ticket to Qatar on away goals after a 1-1 draw.

🔝 @AyewAndre heads into the #FIFAWorldCup as @GhanaBlackstars's All-Time Cap Leader ⭐️ pic.twitter.com/KTcQsFMRSE

— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) November 17, 2022

A 2-0 victory over Switzerland in a friendly on Thursday will have boosted confidence but Portugal’s 4-0 victory over Nigeria on the same night highlighted the task facing them.

Ghana also finished bottom of their African Nations Cup group earlier this year, losing to both Morocco and Comoros either side of a 1-1 draw with Gabon.

This is a big step up in class and the Coral Odds Booster of 13/5 for the Europeans to win both halves looks good value for Portugal v Ghana betting tips.

Bruno can land first blow

Portugal have not been further than the last 16 at the World Cup since their run to the 2006 semi-finals.

They almost missed out on a place in Qatar altogether when they finished second behind Serbia in their qualifying group but received a slice of good fortune when North Macedonia knocked out Italy in the play-offs, with Portugal then beating them 2-0 thanks to a Bruno Fernandes brace.

Their build-up to the tournament has been dominated by Cristiano Ronaldo’s fallout with Manchester United but Portugal are far from a one-man team these days.

Bruno Fernandes gives Cristiano Ronaldo a frosty reception as Portugal meet for the World Cup. pic.twitter.com/W5rDdMirc8

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) November 15, 2022

Fernandes is arguably more influential, just as he is at Old Trafford, and scored two first-half goals in Thursday’s victory over Nigeria.

The midfielder is 9/2 in the Portugal v Ghana odds to score first and looks better value than his United team-mate at 14/5.

There is a sense that Portugal have not reached the levels this squad should be capable of and that may well be the case again in Qatar but this looks a good opportunity to make a flying start.

For the last of our Portugal v Ghana predictions, we like 5/1 in Coral’s #YourCall market for Portugal to win both halves, score at least three goals and keep a clean sheet.

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All odds and markets correct as of date of publication