"It was a difficult pitch where the grass was somewhat too long and it was almost impossible to play better than we did," Ronaldo told Portuguese media after picking up his third successive man-of-the-match award.Coach Fernando Santos said the teams were prevented from training on it the day before the game. "It's an excellent stadium but it's a shame the pitch has problems," he told reporters. "FIFA know about this and I hope that in a week's time it will be better." "I hope they can get the pitch in better condition because it's always important for the quality of the match, especially where you have teams which are technically strong and fast."
Meabwhile, Mexico scored either side of halftime to eliminate hosts Russia from the Confederations Cup with a win 2-1 on Saturday that sent them into the semi-finals. Russia goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev misread a long clearance and was helpless on the edge of his penalty area as a bouncing header by Hirving Lozano floated past him in the 52nd minute. Russia had taken the lead in the 25th minute with a low strike by Alexander Samedov, beating goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa just inside the far post after Mexico had failed to clear a header and midfielder Aleksandr Erokhin missed the ball as he was trying to shoot. Mexico defender Nestor Araujo equalised in the 30th minute with a looping header.RESULTS:New Zealand 0 Portugal 4 Cristiano Ronaldo 33pen, Bernardo Silva 37, Andre Silva 80, Nani 90+1Mexico 2 Nestor Araujo 30, Hirving Lozano 52 Russia 1 Aleksandr Samedov 25Standings P W D L F A Pts1 Portugal 3 2 1 0 7 2 72 Mexico 3 2 1 0 6 4 73 Russia 3 1 0 2 3 3 34 New Zealand 3 0 0 3 1 8 0Semi final well done team ???? pic.twitter.com/UJyPs37jw1
— Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) June 24, 2017
