Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates after scoring the only goal of the game against Confederations Cup hosts Russia |
Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo scored with a header to spoil Russia goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev’s 100th cap as Portugal beat the hosts 1-0 in Confederations Cup Group A on Wednesday.
Portugal showed their offensive prowess in the eighth minute when Ronaldo headed a precise cross by Raphael Guerreiro over Akinfeev’s gloves.
With the Spartak Stadium nearly full with 42,759 spectators in attendance, a re-energised Russia team created chances in the second half but were unable to capitalise against the European champions.
Russia take on Mexico on Saturday in their last group game and Portugal face New Zealand the same day.