Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Host Russia exits Confederations Cup
Host nation Russia fought valiantly but could not avoid early elimination at the Confederations Cup after a 2-1 loss to Mexico on Saturday, a result that secured the Mexicans a place in the semifinals of the World Cup warm-up tournament.
Portugal also advanced from Group A after beating last-place New Zealand 4-0 in St. Petersburg.
Needing a victory to advance from its difficult group, the hosts played well and took the lead with a goal by Alexander Samedov in the first half, but the experienced Mexicans equalized through Nestor Araujo before halftime and secured the victory early in the second with a goal by Hirving Lozano after a mistake by Russia goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev.
The Russians had plenty of chances, but poor finishing kept them from earning a better result. Several players missed clear scoring opportunities throughout the match in front of 41,585 fans at Kazan Arena.
Russian players gathered in the middle of the pitch to salute fans after the final whistle and were applauded by the crowd.
“We managed to show good football,” Russia coach Stanislav Cherchesov said. “We are making steps in the right directions.”
Russia played a man down from the 68th minute as Yury Zhirkov was sent off with a second yellow card, the first player in the tournament to be shown a red card.
Mexico had a secondhalf goal by defender Hector Moreno disallowed for offside after video review.
“We faced a rival that needed to win and had nothing to lose, and we competed very well against them,” Mexico coach Juan Carlos Osorio said. “We are building a team that is showing that it can play against any opponent in any situation. It was an important victory for Mexican football.”
Russia was the lowestranked team in the eightnation competition among continental champions plus the World Cup winner and the host nation.
European champion Portugal showed 95th-ranked New Zealand the respect of selecting Cristiano Ronaldo and other stars when rest was an option.
The strategy helped Ronaldo get his 75th international goal and Portugal an ultimately easy 4-0 win at the Confederations Cup on Saturday.
It also cost Portugal the services of Pepe in the semifinals. The tough defender is suspended for being shown a yellow card for a crude challenge just before he could be substituted.
Pepe is set to miss facing Germany or Chile after helping Portugal top Group A ahead of Mexico on goal difference. Mexico also advanced by beating host Russia 2-1 in Kazan on Saturday.
The type of challenge that made Pepe’s reputation was exactly what he curbed when being central to Portugal’s 2016 European Championship title.
Still, Portugal won that final against France after Ronaldo went off injured, and the 32-year-old forward is at the heart of his team in Russia.
“We will play a difficult opponent whoever that will be, Chile or Germany, two great teams. But we are confident,” Ronaldo said in Portuguese.
Advancing from the group with European champion Portugal and Gold Cup winner Mexico was seen as a difficult task from the start, but an opening victory against New Zealand had left Russia in position to make it to the semifinals despite a loss to Portugal in the second match.
The opening goal came following a blitz by the Russian attack in the 25th minute. After striker Fedor Smolov struck the post with a long-range shot and Zhirkov had his shot saved by Mexican goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa, Russia kept possession and sent the ball back into the area, where Aleksandr Erokhin missed a chance before Samedov picked up his pass and sent a precise low shot into the far corner.
Mexico equalized five minutes later after Hector Herrera’s long cross into the area found Araujo near the far post. The defender headed the ball into the opposite corner, over goalkeeper Akinfeev.