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Cristiano Ronaldo claimed a piece of World Cup goalscoring history on Thursday as mighty Brazil prepared for their first game of the finals.
Ronaldo became the first man to score in five different editions of the World Cup as he slotted home a penalty to help Portugal down Ghana 3-2 in their Group H clash.
The typically ice-cold spot-kick was Ronaldo's eighth career goal at the World Cup and comes after a tumultuous week which saw the star forward make a sensational exit from Manchester United after weeks of tensions with the club.
But there was controversy surrounding the penalty, which was awarded after Ronaldo crashed theatrically to the turf following minimal contact with Ghana defender Mohammed Salisu.
Andre Ayew raised hopes for Ghana with a 73rd minute equaliser but goals from Joao Felix and Rafael Leao ensured a winning start for the Euro 2016 champions. Osman Bukari scored a late consolation for Ghana.
Uruguay were held to a goalless draw by South Korea in their World Cup opener in Qatar on Thursday.
Son Heung-min started for the Koreans despite a recent facial fracture, but it was Uruguay who went closest to finding a winner as Diego Godin and Fede Valverde both struck the post.
Breel Embolo’s goal lifted Switzerland to a 1-0 win over Cameroon, and he kept his promise not to celebrate scoring against the country where he was born.
The Swiss forward from Yaounde struck with a right-foot shot in the 48th minute, standing all alone eight meters out in the middle of the goalmouth to take Xherdan Shaqiri’s low pass.
Favourites Brazil begin their bid to win a sixth World Cup on Thursday when they take on Serbia at 10:00 PM (1900 GMT).
Brazil will be wary of a dangerous Serbian side when the teams meet at Lusail Stadium, especially after seeing Argentina suffer a shock defeat against Saudi Arabia on Tuesday at the same venue and Germany lose to Japan on Wednesday.
The Brazilians have arrived in Qatar hoping for a repeat of what happened at the last World Cup held in Asia two decades ago, when they won their fifth title in Japan.