Is Cristiano Ronaldo playing against Ghana in the 2022 FIFA World Cup today?

Cristiano Ronaldo is expected to start when Portugal take on African outfit Ghana in their opening match at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar on Thursday, 24 November.

The Euro 2016 winners have been drawn alongside Uruguay, South Korea and Ghana in Group H of the tournament.

Cristiano Ronaldo could very well be competing in the final World Cup of his illustrious international career. The former Real Madrid and Juventus forward will join an illustrious list of eight players to have only ever played in five World Cups.

Ronaldo should start and lead Portugal's attack during their opening game of the tournament. This is despite the forward getting very little game time for his former club Manchester United prior to the World Cup.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner could be partnered alongside Bernardo Silva and Rafael Leao as part of the attacking three. Manchester United star Bruno Fernandes should be supporting the attack from central midfield.

Portugal have other attacking talents in their squad. The likes of Joao Felix and Andre Silva are excellent options to bring off the bench.

A look at Portugal's training session ahead of their fixture against Ghana! 👇

✅ Ronaldo not at the press conference but is at training https://t.co/Q5FwExNWj5

Cristiano Ronaldo has faced Ghana just once in his international career. The Portugal skipper played against them during the group stages at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. Portugal secured a 2-1 win on that occasion with Ronaldo scoring the winning goal with 10 minutes remaining. Portugal, however, failed to get out of the group on that occasion after ending third behind Germany and USA.

Things have been tough for Cristiano Ronaldo ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup

Cristiano Ronaldo comes into the 2022 FIFA World Cup with trouble both on and off the pitch. The Portugal forward had his contract with Manchester United terminated following a controversial interview where he criticized the club, its owners and manager Erik ten Hag. Ronaldo was therefore a free agent at the time of writing this story.

Ronaldo also had a difficult 2022-23 season with Manchester United before his contract was terminated. The forward made 16 appearances for the Red Devils across all competitions this season and scored just three times. Two of those goals came in the UEFA Europa League while only one of them was scored in the Premier League.

FINAL training session before the WORLD CUP OPENER against Ghana tomorrow:

CRISTIANO RONALDO. 🔥 https://t.co/8LP3fg0oZx

Cristiano Ronaldo, however, will look to move past his troubles with Manchester United during the course of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Ronaldo had an excellent tournament in 2018 where he scored four times, including a hat-trick against Spain in the group stage. Overall, he has scored seven goals and assisted two more in 17 appearances in the FIFA World Cup.