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The coach added that his team had always been ready to do all required of them, praising the players for their doggedness.
“I don’t know if I’m going to play with Cristiano or without Cristiano”, Santos said through a translator.
All Whites coach Anthony Hudson is devastated his players didn’t get what they deserved after falling 2-1 to Mexico in a sometimes spiteful Confederation Cup encounter. “We had more chances”, he said.
Things remain tight in Group A before Saturday’s final round.
The scene where Salcedo went down, I was shouting for them to stop the game, but there was no reaction (from the New Zealand bench). Ricardo Quaresma had given Portugal the lead after being set up by Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo before Javier Hernández equalised shortly before half-time. “But we were better, we had more chances”, he said.
“The Portuguese probably don’t want to be playing New Zealand right now”.
The 32-year-old netted the only goal of the game to help the European champions to victory in Moscow, beating goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev from close range early on.
This will be the first senior meeting between eighth-ranked Portugal, and New Zealand, who are 95th ― sandwiched between Guatemala and Madagascar.
The Kiwis, appearing at the Confederations Cup for the fourth time, are still hunting their first win in the tournament after just one draw and 10 defeats.
New Zealand’s superb first-half display rattled Mexico and a tense match boiled over with a mass brawl in the dying stages.
The forward said Portugal were worthy winners after surviving a second-half Russian Federation fightback.
Pushes, punches and pokes were traded but more controversy followed afterward when Bakary Gassama, the Gambian referee, reviewed the incident using VAR but chose to issue just a yellow card to the three players involved in the initial stages.
Nevertheless, the Mexicans held on for the win and now move level on points with Portugal.
Both Boxall and Reyes, as well as New Zealand midfielder Ryan Thomas, were all given yellow cards for their part in the incident before Mexico went on to win 2-1. Chris Wood took a shot at goal while Mexican defender Carlos Salcedo was on the ground injured, following a tangle with Wood.
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“I hope that Hector Moreno will be in tomorrow’s game – he’s in the recovery process”, Osorio told a news conference. We don’t have a big playing pool, it’s ludicrous compared to other teams at this tournament.
