Portugal v Ghana Tip: African Stars Due A Victory

The bookies are inevitably sticking to their guns for this clash making Ghana the 5/2 (Boylesports) outsiders despite all the evidence pointing to the Africans having the edge. Portugal (6/5 WilliamHill) may have Ronaldo, but he isn’t 100% fit, has failed to score in his last three outings and is pretty grumpy about it all.

Ghana didn’t just play valiantly for a 2-2 draw against Germany, the stats suggest they could have won both their opening matches with a little more composure in front of goal.

The Black Stars have had a prolific 41 shots, with only France managing more in their first two fixtures (42). The difference is that Les Bleus enjoyed two comfortable victories while the Africans somehow emerged with only a point for all their efforts.

The reason is that nobody has squandered more opportunities to work the keeper than Ghana who have had 23 attempts miss the target. But two second half goals from Andre Ayew and Asamoah Gyan against Germany suggest that they have finally turned a corner.

Portugal realise that they are all but out already due to their feeble goal difference and I expect Akwasi Appiah’s boys can triumph with their attacking verve and superior team spirit.