New Zealand coach Anthony Hudson says the All Whites must be courageous against Mexico, knowing defeat Wednesday will effectively end their Confederations Cup hopes. A report by a Portuguese newspaper two days before Sunday's game said that the Madrid forward had made the "irreversible" decision to leave the Spanish club because he was upset with the allegations.
Portugal have a plethora of attacking talent to support Ronaldo, and the Russians need to compete against the best sides possible before their World Cup adventure begins.
"Everyone knows it's not going to be easy but I hope the full stadium will add to the emotional aspect, be a force and help us get the result we want".
Having rattled the crossbar, Ronaldo's deft pass in the area found Ricardo Quaresma unmarked to open the scoring in Kazan.
"We have the necessary tools to stop them and keep them in check, but of course it will be a hard game", said the 56-year-old.
"First and foremost the match versus Portugal will be against the European champions, against a team with a high concentration of elite level players, aside from Ronaldo", said Smolov, speaking at the press conference at the Spartak Stadium.
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Portugal are trading at a shade over evens to win this, and although Russian Federation have some quality players (I particularly like Krasnodar striker Fyodor Smolov), I just don't think they'll be able to step up to the level needed to contain a star-studded and in-form Portugal team.
He said: "As far as discussions are concerned I will not think about them until the end of the tournament".
"It only matters after three games. We must be ready for them".
Russia LineupPortugal LineupIs Cristiano Ronaldo mentally ready?
After Portugal's defensive frailties were exposed against Mexico, Santos could inject some pace in midfield by starting with Gelson Martins, Nelson Semedo and Andre Silva.
Anthony Hudson's side are through to the final round of regional World Cup qualifying and will play Solomon Islands in a two-legged play-off, but New Zealand suffered 1-0 defeats to Northern Ireland and Belarus in recent friendlies.
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