Portugal twice surrendered the lead against Mexico in their Confederations Cup opener on Sunday but the 2-2 draw was no cause for alarm, according to captain Cristiano Ronaldo.
Selecao had the ball in the back of the net after 20 minutes through Pepe, but the Video Assistant Referee deemed the goal offside just moments before Ronaldo had struck the crossbar.
Carlos Vela crossed for Hernandez to finish from close range after an error from Raphael Guerreiro and the goal gave Mexico the jolt of confidence it badly needed, with the game on the verge of slipping away and Ronaldo looking in a menacing mood.
Mexico, opted to bench the likes of Giovani Dos Santos and Hirving Lozano, were looking fluid in their 4-3-3 formation with Javier Hernandez and Carslos Vela leading the line for El Tri.
The 32-year-old has reportedly made the "irreversible decision" to leave Real Madrid amid accusations of tax fraud, but it was Moreno who stole the spotlight in Kazan as he levelled in second-half stoppage time after Cedric Soares appeared to have won the game five minutes from time.
As it stands, Russian Federation sits at the top of the group, followed by Portugal and Mexico while New Zealand, who were thumped by the hosts 2-0 on Saturday, are bottom.
Cristiano Ronaldo was kept out of the media spotlight in the wake of Portugal's 2-2 Confederations Cup draw on Saturday. The other teams are New Zealand, Cameroon, Chile, Australia and Mexico.
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Ronaldo had not been bad at all; he created one goal and was involved in another and also hit the bar in the first half.
With Mexico still scrambling at the back, another delivery from the right was flicked into the bottom-left corner by Nani, but the referee - assisted by the VAR - disallowed the goal for offside.
"My conscience is quite clear", Ronaldo said Wednesday as he walked from a Portugal team bus into Lisbon airport on his way to Russian Federation. We have a great chance of winning the Confederations Cup because there are still two [group] games left.
Ronaldo carried the ball into the area but was surrounded by three defenders and he passed it to Quaresma, who was free from markers on the far side of the box.
Portugal were all over the Mexicans in the second half, although persistence paid off after Hector Moreno's 90th minute equalizer.
Mexico coach Juan Carlos Osorio said his team deserved their point but admitted there was work to be done going forward.
"We wanted to win, of course, but we have to be satisfied with this result against the European champions", Chicharito said.



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