Ronaldo has star power

Mixed emotions were again the order of the day for All Whites coach Anthony Hudson after his team completed the Confederations Cup with a 4-0 loss to Portugal yesterday.

Hudson was a blend of disappointment but admiration for his squad after man of the match Cristiano Ronaldo led the European champions to a convincing victory in St Petersburg.

Following a strong showing in a 2-1 defeat to Mexico three days earlier, the clash with world No 8 Portuguese was always going to be a stiff task for 95th-ranked New Zealand.

The Kiwi side started well but Real Madrid superstar Ronaldo soon worked his way into the contest and after he put his team ahead from the penalty spot in the 33rd-minute, they had another minutes later to be 2-0 up at halftime.

The All Whites did their best to press forward and get a goal back but that also gave Portugal more room to move on attack and they slammed in two more in the final 15 minutes to blow out the final margin.

‘‘One of the things we learned in this tournament is you get punished for your mistakes,’’ Hudson said after his team finished its campaign with three losses.

‘‘We started very well and were probably the stronger of the two teams, we could have potentially have gone 1-0 up.

‘‘Then we had a period where we just allowed them to come into the game and ultimately it became a bit too much for us to get back into it.

‘‘The biggest positive for me from today was we never dropped off and accepted the result.’’

Portugal made five changes from their 1-0 win over Russia, who had beaten New Zealand 2-0, but their starting XI still featured a plethora of big names, none bigger than four-time and defending world player of the year Ronaldo.

Hudson said they took it as a sign of respect to his team such a strong team had been selected to face them.

Portuguese coach Fernando Santos gave a nod to the All Whites’ attacking mindset by saying he felt New Zealand deserved a goal, adding he was impressed by their spirit and determination.

Hudson agreed but indicated it was tired legs, at what he said was a ‘‘difficult time of the year’’ for his squad, which proved a factor for his side in the final reckoning.

The Englishman believed they would be much improved in that area come the crucial World Cup playoff against the fifth-placed South American team in November, which they will advance to if they can overcome the Solomon Island over two legs in two months time.

‘‘Three games in eight days was the biggest ask for us and when you’re playing against the top teams in the world as minimum you need to be able to physically cope,’’ Hudson said.

‘‘If it’s November and home and away, we do things slightly differently.

‘‘We’ve seen at this tournament we can compete and create chances against these teams.

‘‘Given we’ve only played six, seven, eight games against these [top] teams in the last three years we’ve got so much to look forward to and so much potential in us.

‘‘It’s only a matter of time before we start turning these results against the top teams around.’’