Ghana, Portugal exit World Cup

Christiano Ronaldo’s second half winning goal handed Portugal a 2-1 victory over Ghana in the final group G clash in Brasilia, but it proved academic as both sides crashed out of the World Cup.

Both sides knew only victory would give them a chance of progressing to the second round, and even then they were dependent on the game between Germany and the United States, with a draw in Recife good enough to see those two teams through regardless of events in the capital.

Portugal captain Ronaldo had the first chance of the game in the fifth minute as his intended cross from wide on the right caught goakeeper Fatawu Dauda out of position but hit the crossbar and rebounded to safety.

The Seleccao took the lead in bizarre fashion after 30 minutes when Ghana defender John Boye’s attempted clearance from Miguel Veloso’s cross diverted the ball over Dauda and into the net.

The black stars responded in the second half, Asamoah Gyan’s header seeing him surpass Roger Milla as the highest ever scorer for an African nation at World Cup finals.

Portugal pressed for the winning goal, with Ronaldo missing a hatful of chances, but they always looked vulnerable to Ghanaian counter attacks.

The winner arrived 10 minutes from time, Ronaldo firing home from 12 yards after a defensive mix-up between Jonathan Mensah and Dauda, the keeper flapping hopelessly at a high ball. The goal ensured the Ghana exited the tournament with a single point as they became the third African casualties at Brazil 2014.

Meanwhile, Germany’s Tomas Muller took his tournament tally to four goals, joint top of the chart with Messi of Argentina and Neymar of Brazil, as his team beat the USA 1-0 to finish top of group G.