World Cup live scores, updates: Ronaldo to begin quest for first trophy; Uruguay, South Korea tie
With two days of upsets in a row, can Portugal or Serbia make it three?
A Thanksgiving World Cup slate of matches continues, includes Cristiano Ronaldo, Luis Suarez and Neymar coming to the table.
Switzerland took down Cameroon 1-0 to kick things off this morning, while Suarez and Uruguay battled Son Heung-min and South Korea to a 0-0 draw in the day’s second match. The parade of matches continues with Ronaldo — in likely his last world cup — and Portugal facing Ghana. Will he use his performance for Portugal as an audition for a new club?
Finally, champion-favorite Brazil, and its nine forwards, start its World Cup campaign against Serbia in Group G.
Portugal-Ghana lineups
Follow every match: Live World Cup scores
Cristiano Ronaldo will start for Portugal and Ghana is going with a 5-4-1 lineup.
Portugal lineup (4-3-3): Diogo Costa; João Cancelo, Rúben Dias, Danilo Pereira, Raphaël Guerreiro; Bruno Fernandes, Rúben Neves, Bernardo Silva; Otávio, Cristiano Ronaldo, João Félix.
Ghana lineup (5-4-1): Lawrence Ati-Zigi; Alidu Seidu, Alexander Djiku, Daniel Amartey, Mohammed Salisu, Baba Rahman; Mohammed Kudus, Thomas Partey, Salis Abdul Samed, André Ayew; Iñaki Williams
Portugal unsurprisingly gives a start to the now-clubless Ronaldo, who highlights one of the strongest lineups in the tournament. Ghana, meanwhile, will leave Athletic Bilbao forward Iñaki Williams — whose brother, Nico, is also playing in this tournament with the Spanish national team — alone up top in the hopes of a counter-attacking goal. — Jason Anderson
What’s on the line for legacies of Messi and Ronaldo?
Neither Lionel Messi nor Cristiano Ronaldo has won a World Cup during their illustrious careers.
Former USMNT and MLS player Brian Dunseth, as well as Emily Olsen of USA TODAY Sports+, debate what this year’s World Cup might mean for the legacies of two of the most decorated players in the game’s history.
A look at stadiums for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar
The 22nd World Cup kicks off Sunday in Qatar, featuring 32 elite soccer teams in 64 matches over 29 days. Qatar, with a population of 2.7 million in a country smaller than the state of Connecticut, is the smallest World Cup host nation since Switzerland in 1954. It is also the first country in the Middle East to host the tournament.
Under a well-documented cloud of labor exploitation and human rights abuses, most of the eight lavishly appointed stadiums serving as World Cup sites were built or updated with the ability to cut capacity after the tournament or to be repurposed altogether as part of a sustainability drive. Qatar has pledged 170,000 removed stadium seats to developing countries in need of sports-related infrastructure.
Here are the eight World Cup stadiums. — Stephen J. Beard
Uruguay, South Korea tie 0-0
Uruguay and South Korea played to a scoreless tie. Both teams had late chances to score. Attempt missed. South Korea’s Son Heung-Min missed a shot from outside the box at the 90th minute. Uruguay’s Federico Valverde hit the left post from outside the box in the 89th minute. South Korea’s Hwang In-Beom missed from outside the box misses in the 94th minute.
Switzerland’s Embolo refuses to celebrate goal vs. Cameroon, his birth nation
Switzerland striker Breel Embolo was full of emotion after his winning goal against Cameroon, for a variety of reasons.
Scoring any goal at a World Cup is a milestone but for Embolo, Thursday’s strike in the 48th minute of an eventual 1-0 win went much deeper.
Embolo was born in Cameroon’s capital Yaoundé and moved to France at age five, before settling in Switzerland shortly afterwards. The Monaco striker has referred to himself as Cameroon’s biggest fan.
Embolo got on the end of a Xherdan Shaqiri cross and powered home a finish from close range, before raising his arms in a muted, if not apologetic celebration.
“I told him, ‘Breel, friendship until the start, then they are your opponents,'” said Switzerland coach Murat Yakin after the game. “Football writes such stories but he completed his mission.” — Seth Vertelney, Pro Soccer Wire.
“what just happened?!?”
From David Beckham’s ejection during the 1998 World Cup and Diego Maradona’s famous “Hand of God” goal in the 1986 World Cup to Zinedine Zidane’s shocking headbutt in the 2006 World Cup final and Suarez biting another player, here’s a look at the craziest moments from previous World Cups.
What are the best World Cup goals and moments in history?
Whether it was Landon Donovan’s late winner in 2010 or Diego Maradona’s “Goal of the Century” for Argentina in 1986, the World Cup has delivered memorable moments on a global stage for over 90 years.
Going into this year’s tournament in Qatar, for the first time in the Middle East, these are the top 10 best moments (plus a bonus honorable mention!) from the World Cup’s illustrious history.
Switzerland vs. Cameroon — 5 a.m.
With heavy hitters like Brazil and Serbia rounding out Group G, Switzerland and Cameroon will both be eager to pick up points in this game. While Cameroon was swept in 2010 and 2014 group stages, Switzerland has advanced to the knockouts in four of their last five tournament appearances.
Time: Thursday, Nov. 24 at 5 a.m. ET
Stadium: Al Janoub Stadium
How to watch: FOX and Telemundo or stream on fuboTV and Peacock (Spanish)