The Qatar World Cup is around the corner and all eyes will be on Group H, with the world favourite Cristiano Ronaldo entering what many have touted as his last FIFA tournament. And with a star-studded squad under his command, the forward will hope to fight his way to the one trophy that has eluded him his entire career.
Standing in his way are three formidable outfits — Portugal, Ghana and Uruguay. Here, we take a concise look at the group, of which Ronaldo is a part, to see how they fare.
Portugal
The 2016 Euro winners will be making their eighth appearance at the Qatar World Cup and head coach Fernando Santos has put his faith in a perfect blend of youth and experience. Led by the able skipper Ronaldo, the 9th-ranked Portugal will hope to end the legendary forward's WC tryst on a high.
Despite having star players in every position and in every World Cup, Portugal's best finish came all the way back in 1966, when they finished third. In the last World Cup, the side were eliminated in the Round of 16, losing to Uruguay 2-1, with Ronaldo scoring four goals for his team.
All eyes will be on him yet again, with the Manchester United forward not in the best of form. He will be aided by his club teammate Bruno Fernandes, who will be the main creative presence in the midfield for Portugal, alongside Bernardo Silva. Bernardo is arguably the best Portuguese midfielder in the Premier League given his brilliant record of winning domestic trophies with Manchester City, and the duo of Bruno and him will be key to Portugal's run in the world cup.
Fixtures: Ghana: November 24, Uruguay: November 28, South Korea: December 2
Goalkeepers: Diogo Costa, Jose Sa, Rui Patricio
Defenders: Diogo Dalot, Joao Cancelo, Danilo Pereira, Pepe, Ruben Dias, Antonio Silva, Nuno Mendes, Raphael Guerreiro
Midfielders: Joao Palhinha, Ruben Neves, Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes, Joao Mario, Matheus Nunes, Vitinha, William Carvalho, Otavio
Forwards: Cristiano Ronaldo, Joao Felix, Rafael Leao, Ricardo Horta, Goncalo Ramos, Andre Silva
Uruguay
The South American giants have fallen off the grid slightly after dominating World Cup football in the early years of the competition. They won the tournament in 1930 and 1950, but have not since then. In recent years, Uruguay finished fourth in 2010, making it to the semifinals after a dramatic encounter with Ghana in the quarterfinals.
This tournament will also be the swansong for many of their players, especially forwards Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani, who will be playing their fourth World Cup alongside Fernando Muslera, Diego Godin and Martin Caceres. The side will be complemented by a plethora of young stars, with a focus on Liverpool's latest striker Darwin Nunez, and Real Madrid's star midfielder Federico Valverde.
The addition of Ronald Araujo despite injury displays the intent of Diego Alonso, who became Uruguay's coach in 2021 after 15 years of Oscar Tabarez's stewardship. The 14th-ranked side have the firepower to show the world their capabilities, and being placed in a tough group might just bring out the best in them.
Fixtures: South Korea: November 24, Portugal: November 28, Ghana: December 2
Goalkeepers: Fernando Muslera, Sergio Rochet, Sebastian Sosa
Defenders: Ronald Araujo, Sebastian Coates, Martin Caceres, Guillermo Varela, Matias Vina, Mathias Olivera, Jose Maria Gimenez, Diego Godin, Jose Luis Rodríguez
Midfielders: Lucas Torreira, Matias Vecino , Rodrigo Bentancur, Manuel Ugarte, Giorgian de Arrascaeta, Nicolas de la Cruz, Federico Valverde , Facundo Pellistri, Agustin Canobbio, Facundo Torres
Forwards: Luis Suarez, Darwin Nunez, Maximiliano Gomez, Edinson Cavani
South Korea
South Korea are the biggest threat to look out for in Group H. Currently ranked 28th on the FIFA World Rankings, the Asian side have qualified for every edition of the tournament since 1986. Their best-ever finish was in 2002 when they reached the semifinals.
The biggest name in the South Korean side is undoubtedly Son-Heung Min, but the Tottenham forward recently broke his eye socket in a club match in the UEFA Champions League. They will also be led by head coach Paulo Bento, who was the head coach of Portugal at the 2014 World Cup.
The Koreans will be playing in the World Cup finals for the 10th time in a row. The Asian giants staged a major surprise at the 2018 World Cup when they eliminated defending champions Germany from their group. In addition to Son, they also have Lee Kang-in, a young midfielder from plays for La Liga club Mallorca.
Fixtures: Uruguay: November 24, Ghana: November 28, Portugal: December 2
Goalkeepers: Kim Seung-Gyu, Jo Hyeon-Woo, Song Bum-Keun
Defenders: Kim Min-Jae, Kim Young-Gwon, Kwon Kyung-Won, Cho Yu-Min, Kim Moon-Hwan, Yoon Jong-Gyu, Kim Tae-Hwan, Kim Jin-Su, Hong Chul
Midfielders: Jung Woo-Young, Son Jun-Ho, Paik Seung-Ho, Hwang In-Beom, Lee Jae-Sung, Kwon Chang-Hoon, Jeong Woo-Yeong, Lee Kang-In, Son Heung-Min, Hwang Hee-Chan, Na Sang-Ho, Song Min-Kyu.
Forwards: Hwang Ui-Jo, Cho Gue-Sung.
Ghana
Under the tutelage of Otto Addo, Ghana qualified for their fourth World Cup after they finished on top of Group G in the second qualification round. They beat South Africa, Ethiopia and Zimbabwe to first place, before a tough win over Group C winners and fierce rivals Nigeria for a spot in Qatar. This was the perfect reprieve for the side ranked 61st in the world, who endured a tough 2022 Africa Cup of Nations campaign where they were eliminated from the group stages for the first time since 2006.
This side will do well if they keep in mind their performance at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. They reached the quarterfinals in 2010, becoming only the third African nation to qualify for the final eight of a World Cup. They were knocked out on penalties by none other than their group opponents Uruguay, having missed a spot-kick in extra time after Luis Suarez was sent off for a deliberate handball that denied Ghana the winning strike.
Ghana will be led by veteran midfielder Andre Ayew, who plays in Qatar for Qatar Stars League club Al Sadd. But all eyes will be on a handful of their Premier League stars, especially Thomas Partey, who has been key in Arsenal's dominance at the top of the table. Athletic Bilbao's Inaki Williams and Brighton and Hove Albion's Tariq Lamptey adopted their Ghanaian roots, which will massively boost their credentials as minnows of this group
Fixtures: Portugal: November 24, South Korea: November 28, Uruguay: December 2
Goalkeepers: Manaf Nurudeen, Danlad Ibrahim, Lawrence Ati Zigi
Defenders: Denis Odoi, Tariq Lamptey, Alidu Seidu, Daniel Amartey, Joseph Aidoo, Alexander Djiku, Mohammed Salisu, Abdul-Rahman Baba, Gideon Mensah
Midfielders: Andre Ayew, Thomas Partey, Elisha Owusu, Salis Abdul Samed, Mohammed Kudus, Daniel Kofi Kyerehm
Forwards: Daniel Barnieh Afriyie, Kamal Sowah, Issahaku Abdul Fatawu, Osman Bukari, Inaki Williams, Antoine Semenyo, Jordan Ayew, Kamaldeen Sulemana
Group prediction
Much like the last five World Cups that Ronaldo has been a part of, Portugal are the favourites of ruse above this group and qualify for the World Cup. This is also the last time that the 37-year-old will be playing in the World Cup, so it will really boost the confidence of his teammates. In addition to the European side, everyone's money will surely be on Uruguay, who, on paper, have an excellent squad of players.
