Portugal scaled as joint-toppers of Group A at the FIFA Confederations Cup following a 1-0 victory over hosts Russia on Wednesday night, Cristiano Ronaldo making the difference for Portugal. The Real Madrid superstar found the back of the net after seven minutes, beating Russia keeper Igor Akinfeev with a powerful header inside the penalty box, and the hosts weren't able to find a response. Elsewhere, in the group, Mexico came from behind to edge past New Zealand and moved top of Group A amid ugly scenes at the match on Wednesday night.
Here's a quick summary of Wednesday's Group A matches and how they actually went down:
Russia 0, Portugal 1
Ronaldo headed home the lone goal as the European champions recorded their first victory at the tournament by defeating Russia. Cristiano Ronaldo connected with midfielder Raphael Guerreiro's long range cross in the seventh minute to seal the eventual winner for Portugal. Russia goalie Igor Akinfeev, earning his 100th international cap, saved well from Portugal's Andre Silva in the early minutes of the second-half. The hosts Russia apparently missed two dying chances to “salvage” a draw against the European champions as Fedor Smolov floated an effort wide and Georgy Dzhikya header over the crossbar.
With this victory, Portugal now sit as joint-toppers on four points with Mexico, while Russia lie third in the group
Mexico 2, New Zealand 1
Chris Wood gave New Zealand a first half lead but second half goals from Oribe Peralta and Raul Jimenez eventually sealed the victory for El Tri. But the match boiled over in the last minutes when Mexico captain Diego Reyes pulled-back New Zealand's Michael Boxall, who then “lunged” at Herrera.
The center referee Bakary Gassama then consulted the video assistant referee before issuing three yellow cards to Michael Boxall, Hector Herrera, and Raul Jimenez. Mexico coach Juan Osorio apologized for apparently losing his temper during the encounter. Juan Osorio had a heated dispute with one of New Zealand assistant head coaches after El Tri's Carlos Saucedo went down with a hand injury in the first-half.
Afterward, New Zealand head coach Anthony Hudson later had to be restrained by his own assistants during the brawl in stoppage-time. With this victory, Mexico now tops Group A with four points and only need at least a draw against Russia on Saturday to be sure of progressing to the semi-finals, while New Zealand remains bottom and are out of the Confederations Cup.
