Antoine Semenyo insists he will ‘relish the challenge’ of coming up against Cristiano Ronaldo when Ghana face Portugal in their opening FIFA World Cup match on Thursday.
The nations will meet at Doha’s Stadium 974 for their Group H matchup, as Ronaldo will seek to add to his tally of 117 goals in 191 games for his nation.
The ex-Real Madrid man netted the winning goal the last time the two sides met in the 2014 World Cup, and Semenyo is looking forward to the battle with one of the world’s greatest.
“I know that I’m going to relish the challenge,” he said. “I’m going to work hard, do whatever I can to stop him from scoring and put the ball in the back of the net myself.”

Semenyo has long admired Ronaldo, who is 15 years his senior, but maintained that once the match starts, he will be fully focused on helping his nation cause an upset against one of the favourites to win the competition.
“It’s crazy, it’s unbelievable, I’ve always watched him from when I was young, and I still watch him now so to be up against him, it’s big.
“It’s going to be exciting. I mean, watching one of the world’s best all the time from a young age, it’s going to be one hell of an experience. But I’m there to win, so whatever I need to do to do that, I’ll do it.”
The 22-year-old was a surprise inclusion in Otto Addo’s squad, following a frustrating campaign for Bristol City this season. Semenyo is on a goalless run of 12 games for the Robins.
However, Addo will be hoping the forward is hitting form at the right time. Semenyo netted his first goal for the Black Stars in their 2-0 victory over Switzerland last week and will be eager to add his name to the list of his nation’s World Cup goalscorers.
Ghana are 350/1 to lift the prestigious trophy, and although Semenyo wasn’t shy about his World Cup-winning aspirations, the youngster set a more realistic target for his country.
“The dream is to win, you always want to win,” he said. “But getting into the round of 16 or last eight, that is definitely the aim.”