FIFA World Cup’s Group H will see star strikers Cristiano Ronaldo, Edinson Cavani and Luis Suarez all in action as Portugal, Uruguay, Ghana and Republic of Korea are drawn together in the same group.
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Multiple rivalries will be repeated here. Uruguay, which eliminated Portugal in Russia 2018 and Ghana in South Africa 2010 in controversial circumstances, will come up against both the teams early on in the tournament.
Here is a look at the four teams in Group H and their analysis as they gear up for Qatar 2022.
Portugal
Portugal will be playing in its sixth consecutive World Cup with its skipper Cristiano Ronaldo playing his fifth. The team missed automatic qualification with Serbia leading the group and beat North Macedonia to get into the tournament this time.
Portugal will face stern competition from South American heavyweight Uruguay.
Korea Republic, another team that beat Figo’s Portugal in 2002, is also in this group — something Ronaldo must be careful of avoiding a similar upset in Qatar.
Ronaldo has 115 international goals — the most in the men's field while Portugal has scored a total of 49 goals in World Cup history. As the team travels to Qatar, he will look to increase his lead further as Portugal looks for a half-century of goals.
Manager: Fernando Santos
Portugal’s World Cup record —
Ghana
Ghana made its debut in the World Cup in 2006 and has qualified in every edition of the tournament since, barring Russia 2018.
Its best-ever performance in the tournament came in 2010 when it became the third African side to make it through to the quarterfinal stage at the finals. Uruguay eliminated Ghana after a penalty shoot-out defeat.
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The country’s highest goalscorer, Asamoah Gyan, remains in contention for selection, after his reversal on the announcement of retirement.
The 36-year-old’s penalty miss proved pivotal in Ghana's elimination in 2010. This time, if given the chance, he will hope for redemption.
Manager: Otto Addo
Ghana's World Cup record —
Uruguay
The first winner of the world cup had a rocky qualifying campaign before it got rid of its head coach and eventually managed to book its berth for Qatar 2022.
Uruguay has won the title twice and has reached the semifinals on three further occasions, with the latest one being in South Africa in 2010.
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It has met all the other countries in its group previously in the tournament and had won all three fixtures against them — something Uruguay will look to continue this time around.
With an arsenal featuring its two highest goalscorers ever, Luis Suarez (68 goals) and Edinson Cavani (54 goals), Diego Alonso’s side will aim to finish the group as the leader.
Manager: Diego Alonso
Uruguay's World Cup record —
Korea Republic
Korea Republic's qualification for the 2022 World Cup has extended its run of successive FIFA World Cup appearances to 10 in a row, every edition since 1986 — a record for a country which has never lifted the trophy.
Five of its six wins in the tournament’s history so far have been against European sides, with one of them, Portugal, in its group this time. Its best performance in the World Cup remains its fourth-place finish in 2002 – the best performance by an Asian team in the tournament.
With Tottenham Hotspur’s Son Heung-Min in attack, the Taegeuk Warriors will look to repeat a similar performance twenty years apart.
Manager: Paulo Bento
Korea Republic's World Cup record —
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Here's the full list of FIFA World Cup 2022 Group H fixtures and timings (IST)
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