This Saturday, June 24, 2017 (8:00 AM Pacific) New Zealand will play Portugal at the Zenit Arena in Saint Petersburg, Russia for a group stage match in the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup. While New Zealand is mathematically eliminated from the competition, Portugal is still fighting for a spot in the next round of the competition.
Cristiano Ronaldo to lead Portugal into Semifinals
New Zealand is technically eliminated from the competition but will still give a fight as shown in previous encounters. The Kiwis started off the competition with a lackluster 2-0 loss against Russia but then gave a surprisingly impressive performance against Mexico in their second game. The Oceanic side lost 2-1 but was the superior team on the pitch and could have easily won the game if they had taken better advantage of their scoring opportunities. New Zealand’s most impressive player has been Leeds United striker, Chris Wood who was the top scorer in the English second tier division with 27 goals. Wood is the currently the captain of this New Zealand side and will be the main player to watch on the Kiwis.
Portugal is currently in second with four points in Group A of the competition and will be looking to get some goals and obtain the three points to possibly emerge as the leaders of Group A. The European side has looked solid in the competition but definitely has potential to play much better than it has. In the first matchday, Portugal tied 2-2 against Mexico and is recently coming off a slim 1-0 victory against the host nation, Russia.
Cristiano Ronaldo has risen above the rest of the squad and has looked like the best player on the Portuguese squad. The Real Madrid star has only scored one goal in the competition but has created and executed many scoring opportunities in the last two games. Portugal should be able to easily win this game but it should still prove to be an intriguing encounter to cap off group stage play in Group A.
How to Watch New Zealand vs Portugal
The New Zeland vs Portugal match will be broadcast this Saturday, June 24 at 8:00 AM Pacific:
TV Schedule: Fox Sports 1, NBC Universo
Watch Live Online: Sling TV (Watch 7 Days Free), Fubo TV (Watch 7 Days Free)