The Confederations Cup 2017 kicked off on Saturday (June 17) night with hosts Russia claiming a 2-0 win over New Zealand. The action from Group A continues on Sunday (June 18) as Euro 2016 winners Portugal take on Mexico at the Kazan Arena in Kazan. Both these teams are expected to make it to the next round of the tournament.
This will be the first time Portugal are competing in the Confederations Cup but they are expected to go all the way, along with Germany, as a serious contender for the title. The last time Mexico and Portugal met was during a warm-up match for the 2014 FIFA World Cup and Bruno Alves had won the game for the Portuguese.
Also read: FIFA Confederations Cup 2017: Full list of players participating from all 8 teams
Handling Cristiano Ronaldo is going to be certainly one of the major concerns for the Mexicans and Miguel Layun said only hard work is going to get them the win. Defender Carlos Salcedo handed a clue about how El Tri will approach dealing with Ronaldo and Portugal's attack.
"My teammates can help me by having good possession of the ball. We know these days that possession of the ball is the most important thing. Through that we will run less and defend less, so I think my teammates will be fired up to play a good game," ESPN quoted Salcedo as saying.
As for Portugal, their young striker Andre Silva, Who recently completed a big money move to AC Milan, said their captain Ronaldo is only focusing on the national team and winning the tournament.
"All players aim to go far and dream of raising trophies. I'm not running away from that, and I see myself lifting the trophy with my teammates, but there is a long road ahead, and we'll go from game to game. Are we favourites? I can't agree. There are very strong national teams in this tournament," Silva said.
Portugal have no injuries ahead of their Confederations Cup opener against Mexico with manager Fernando Santos having a fully fit squad to select from. The likes of Bernardo Silva and Andre Silva, who were recently bought for huge transfer fees, will be hoping to justify the move.
For Mexico's coach Juan Carlos Osorio, he too does not have a lot of injuries to deal with but his captain and Mexico's most experienced player Rafael Marquez could miss the first match because of a back spasm. Javier Hernandez and Carlos Vela will be two Mexican players in focus.
Portugal, nevertheless, will begin as favourites against their North American rivals.
Where to watch
The Confederations Cup Group A match between Portugal and Mexico will kick off at 6:00pm local time, 8:30pm IST and 11:00am EST.
TV and live streaming information
India: TV: Sony Six/HD, Ten 2. Live streaming: Sony Liv
Mexico: TV: UnivisionTDN, SKY Planeta Fútbol and Azteca 13
Portugal: TV: RTP 1
Russia: TV: Channel One Russia
USA: TV: STV Scotland, UTV, ITV 1 UK
UK: TV: Telemundo, Fox Sports 1. Live streaming: Fox Sports GO
