Portugal coasted to a 4-0 win over New Zealand in St Petersburg and secured their place in the semi-finals of the Confederations Cup. <\/p>\n
The win, however, came at a cost as Manchester City-bound midfielder Bernardo Silva substituted because of an ankle injury. <\/p>\n
With hosts Russia losing against Mexico in Kazan, Portugal progressed as Group A winners, while the All Whites finished bottom following a third straight defeat. <\/p>\n
Captain Cristiano Ronaldo put Portugal ahead from the penalty spot on 33 minutes. <\/p>\n
Bernard Silva - set to leave Monaco in a 43million deal - swiftly doubled the lead with a close-range finish, but in doing so landed awkwardly on his ankle and was taken off at half-time. <\/p>\n
Forward Andre Silva wrapped up the comfortable victory with a fierce angled finish on 80 minutes and Nani added a fourth in stoppage time. <\/p>\n
New Zealand, the OFC Nations Cup winners, had made a positive opening with Leeds forward Chris Wood seeing his shot saved. <\/p>\n
Ronaldo rattled the crossbar before Ipswich defender Tommy Smith bundled over Danilo Pereira following a corner and the Real Madrid forward scored the resulting penalty . <\/p>\n
It was soon 2-0 when Bernardo Silva converted a low cross from Pereira Eliseu after 37 minutes. <\/p>\n
However, the attacking midfielder turned his ankle as he landed ahead of a sliding challenge from Tom Doyle, which saw him replaced by Luis Pizzi after the break. <\/p>\n
Just before half-time, Portugal forward Andre Silva lashed out at Michael Boxall after a tussle with the New Zealand defender, which left him with a torn shirt - but could easily have also resulted in a red card. <\/p>\n
New Zealand almost pulled a goal back on the hour when Doyle's ball across the face of goal from the left found Wood at the far post, but Portugal goalkeeper Rui Patricio recovered to make a sliding block on the line. <\/p>\n
Marinovic had produced a string of decent saves at the other end during the second half. <\/p>\n
However, the All Whites keeper could do little when Silva, who cost AC Milan some 33million from Porto, darted into the right of the penalty area before crashing the ball into the top corner. <\/p>\n
Nani drilled in a fourth goal for Portugal during stoppage time. <\/p>\n
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Portugal progress to Confederations Cup semi-finals after beating New Zealand - Eurosport.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Portugal coasted to a 4-0 win over New Zealand in St Petersburg and secured their place in the semi-finals of the Confederations Cup. Continue reading