Confederations Cup Match Preview: Portugal vs New Zealand
Portugal will face New Zealand in the final group match. New Zealand’s dreams of coming to the 2017 FIFA Cup Confederations were broken in the second half of their match against Mexico. They plan to lock horns with European Champions today who still have a point to gain in the final group stage stage game.
Confederations Cup Match Preview: Portugal vs New Zealand
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Portugal
The reigning winners of Europe reached Russia to demonstrate their quality and worth once more as Fernando Santos conveyed his most powerful squad to the Confederations Cup. Cristiano Ronaldo leads the team that sits second in Group A. However, there are talks that Ronaldo might be rested. Portugal put in a fine show in their opening game against Mexico, but lost three points since Mexico misused defensive errors to hook back for a 2-2 draw. Fernando Santos’ men placed in a greatly enhanced execution against Russia, as Portugal went ahead to land a 1-0 win win. The Portuguese at the end of the day let their guard drop down in the last phases of the match, but Russia failed to make any utilization of their predominance amid the late phases of the match. A win against New Zealand now remains as an absolute necessity for Santos’ men.
Team News
Eliseu is probably going to replace Raphael Guerreiro who is feared to have endured a leg crack.
Nani, Ricardo Quaresma, etc. could be reintroduced into the starting line-up.
New Zealand
All Whites are yet to win any of their Cofederations Cup matches and their streak of losses is going on since 1999, though they verged on doing so in their Wednesday’s match against Mexico. New Zealand went 1-0 up on account of a Chris Wood first-half goal though they wound up losing their head in a bustling second half which brought more than Mexico’s two goals for a 2-1 victory at last. Raul Jimenez and Oribe Peralda smashed New Zealand’s fantasies. Mexico commander Diego Reyes pulled back Michael Boxall, who at that point got included in a battle with Hector Herrera. A mass fight followed, and a VAR system had to be consulted before ref Bakary Gassama issued three yellow cards in a game that saw two sides lose their tempers at last.
Team News
Despite the fact that they lost any shot of experiencing, New Zealand are relied upon to handle the unaltered line-up against Portugal.
Rojas and Wood will lead the line in assault, though Boxall will attempt to contain one of Europe’s productive scorer Cristiano Ronaldo.
Key Factors to Consider
Portugal and New Zealand face each other for the first time
New Zealand are yet to win any of their Confederations Cup matches
All Whites scored just 1 goal in their last four matches
Portugal kept a spotless sheet in three of their last four games
Portugal lost just a single of their last 9 outings in different competitions
Ronaldo might be rested as Santos looks for rotation in his team
Conclusion
Portugal are consider as top choices to beat New Zealand Subsequently, there might be a half-time/full-time win for Santos’ men as Portugal are relied upon to kick it off solid and go head first from the beginning.