Cristiano Ronaldo was among the goalscorers as Portugal beat New Zealand 4-0 to reach the Confederations Cup semi-finals as Group A winners.
Portugal cruised into the semi-finals of the Confederations Cup as Group A winners after Cristiano Ronaldo, Bernardo Silva, Andre Silva and Nani secured a 4-0 victory over New Zealand on Saturday.
Although proceedings took a while to heat up, Portugal were ultimately good value for their triumph and look set to face either Chile or Germany in the final four of the competition, as two of their rising stars rose to the challenge alongside the more experienced Ronaldo and Nani to clinch top spot.
Ronaldo was the one to break the deadlock, dispatching an emphatic penalty beyond Stefan Marinovic to score on the 30th birthday of nemesis Lionel Messi.
The talented Bernardo Silva doubled the European champions’ tally before the break with a simple finish after a lovely Portugal move on the left flank.
Portugal still looked determined to make sure of their position as group winners by adding more goals and new AC Milan signing Andre Silva effectively clinched it in the 80th minute with a fine solo effort.
And Nani, Ronaldo’s replacement from the bench, added a fourth for good measure, ensuring that Portugal’s next generation did not take all the glory as Fernando Santos’ men finished ahead of Mexico thanks to a super goal difference after their 2-1 defeat of Russia.
The early exchanges were very subdued, with neither side offering a great deal of attacking spark in St Petersburg.
But Portugal did eventually come to life and Ronaldo forced Marinovic into a straightforward save with a header from a right-wing delivery after 24 minutes.
Ronaldo was central again a few moments later, meeting another Ricardo Quaresma cross with a header which came back off the crossbar.
The Real Madrid star was not to be denied just after the half-hour mark, though, as Tom Doyle caught Danilo in the area and Ronaldo duly slammed the penalty into the top-right corner.
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