Things did not get off to a great start for Portugal, but after their last match against the United States, everything has become much more difficult. Paulo Bento’s squad are last in the group, and will need a near miracle to go through to the next round.
Everything looked promising when the Portuguese took an early lead against the USA, but the North Americans fought back to take a 2-1 lead. Goals from Jermaine Jones and Clint Dempsey would surely send the Yanks through, but a last ditch goal from Varela has brought us an eventful final match day in the group.
Defeating Ghana is a must for the Lusitanos if they want to keep their hopes alive, but they will also need to hope that the USA loses against Germany.
Making things even more difficult, Portugal currently has a minus four goal difference, while the USA sits on a plus one. That means that a lot of goals will be needed in both matches.
Despite their struggles up until now, and their very difficult task, midfielder Raul Meireles took to Twitter to thank the Portuguese fans.
“Thank you all for your support. We are going to fight until the end. We are going to give it our all,” Meireles said on his official Twitter account.
Will giving it their all come a little to late?
Their opposition will also be looking to give it their all on Thursday, but they too have been dealing with some negative media attention and drama within the squad.
When they had left Ghana en route to Brazil, the federation and the players had come to an agreement in regards to their reward money. Apparently their was a misunderstanding, which led to the entire squad threatening to forfeit the match against Portugal.
In order to resolve the issue, the Ghanaian federation sent a plane to Brazil with an estimated £3m in cash, to pay the players their reward.
Now with that out of the way, they can focus on the task at hand, which is difficult, but slightly more feasible than that of Portugal.
Ghana also has one point, but they have a minus one goal difference. They too will need a few goals, but even a two goal victory over Portugal, combined with a one goal defeat for the Americans will be enough to see Ghana through to the next round.
This group had been nicknamed the group of death by many when the teams were drawn, but not many expected it to come down the wire like this. Both matches will have significant meaning, with both these nations needing to score goals, which should result in a very open match with a lot of opportunities.
Where To Watch This Match - Live Stream, Start Time, TV Channels, Live Scores
Watch Portugal vs Ghana live on Thursday, June 26, 2014:
In the US at 12.00 EST on:
- On TV: UniMás, ESPN2, Galavision
- Online & Apps:ESPN Deportes+, ESPN3 Online-App, Univision Deportes En Vivo, WATCH ESPN
- Audio / Radio: ESPN Radio, SiriusXM FC, Futbol de Primera Radio
In Canada at 12.00 ET on:
- On TV: TVA Sports, Univision Canada, Sportsnet World, , Sportsnet Pacific, Sportsnet West, Sportsnet Ontario, Sportsnet East, TLN
- Online & Apps: CBC Sports Live Streaming, ICI Radio-Canada En Direct,
In the UK at 17.00 BST on:
- On TV: BBC Red Button
- Online & Apps: The BBC iPlayer
- Audio / Radio: BBC Radio 5 Live, TalkSport Radio
In Australia at 02:00 (Friday) on:
- On TV: SBS One Australia
- Audio / Radio: SBS Radio 4, SBS Radio 2
For complete details of match listings and live scores, visit the Portugal vs Ghana match page.
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