Playing in the World Cup for the fifth time, Cristiano Ronaldo will face a huge challenge. In the group stage, Portugal will face uruguay and South Korea, two major rivals, even if it enters the knockout round, Portugal may encounter strong opponents such as Brazil and Argentina.
Judging from the results of the draw, Portugal did not draw a European team in the group stage for the second time, however, neither Uruguay, South Korea nor Ghana are easy opponents to deal with. In particular, Uruguay and South Korea are Portugal's nemesis.
Portugal's only big game against Uruguay was in the 2018 World Cup, when Cavani scored twice to help Uruguay win 2-1. Not only that, but Ronaldo also continued the embarrassing record of never participating in a goal or assist in the World Cup knockout round.
Compared to Uruguay, South Korea is more like an "enemy" of Portugal. At the 2002 World Cup, Portugal faced host South Korea in the final round of the group stage, and after the first two rounds of 1 win and 1 loss, Portugal had to defeat South Korea to qualify.
However, just 27 minutes later, João Pinto left the field red. In the 65th minute, Beto was also sent off with a red card. In the end, Park Ji-sung's goal led to Portugal losing 0-1 and being eliminated. A month later, João Pinto was suspended by FIFA for six months and fined 60,000 euros, and João Pinto never appeared for the national team again.
The last time Portugal was in the same group as Ghana was at the 2014 World Cup. Portugal defeated Ghana 2-1 in the final round of the group stage, but the two teams ranked 3rd and 4th in the group respectively, and both failed to qualify for the knockout rounds.
Even in the knockout rounds, Portugal's opponents in the quarter-finals were quite difficult. If you advance to the top of the group, then Portugal's opponent may be Serbia, in this World Preliminary Tournament, Portugal did not win two matches against Serbia, and the final battle was 1-2 at home, which made Portugal have to play in the play-offs. If Serbia is eliminated, Portugal's opponents in the quarter-finals may be Spain, Germany or Belgium.
If Portugal advance to second place in the group, their opponents in the round of 16 will be Brazil, led by Neymar. As the number one favorite to win the World Cup, Brazil's strength can be imagined. Even with Brazil eliminated, Portugal's opponent in the quarter-finals is likely to be Argentina, led by Messi.