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Ronaldo confident after leading Portugal to Confederations Cup semi-finals

Portugal and Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo is confident Portugal can go all the way at the Confederations Cup after his side booked a place in the semi-finals with a comfortable 4-0 win against New Zealand.

Ronaldo opened the scoring with a penalty and Bernardo Silva, Andre Silva and Nani were all on target in a victory that ensured Portugal qualified for the last four as Group A winners.

The Real Madrid star's strike was his 75th goal for Portugal and the 56th time he has hit the net since the start of last season, with Ronaldo backing his team to follow up their win at Euro 2016 with more glory in Russia.

"I helped the team, I scored the opening goal and I had a few more chances," said Ronaldo. "We played very well, we wanted to win and get the result in the first half.

"It was hard to play better than we played because the grass was not very good. We know that in the semi-finals both Chile and Germany are great teams, but we are confident."

Coach Fernando Santos is not concerned about which team is up next for Portugal, with Group B to be decided on Sunday.

"Opponents? [Chile and Germany] are two very strong teams," he said. "Now, I will analyse the opponents and prepare the game regardless of the opponent.

"It's another phase, totally different, but the aim is to win. We have to be better and more consistent, stronger in both ways. You have to try to reach the goal and prevent them from scoring.

"I warned my players to not let them win balls in the air, and the team reacted well. I think the New Zealand team deserved to score a goal. They're a team with great spirit and capacity."

Joao Moutinho collected his 100th international cap and the Portugal midfielder was happy with his side's showing in St Petersburg.

"I'm very proud to make 100 appearances, I hope to do even more," said Moutinho. "It's always good to help the team achieve their goals.

"It was a good team match, we managed to put on the field what we trained. We achieved a result, a good victory and a place in the semi-final, which was our main goal."

New Zealand coach Anthony Hudson accepted Portugal were too strong for his side as they finished their Confederations Cup pointless and having scored a single goal.

"At 2-0 we could have kept the scoreline respectable, but we didn't," he said. "We had three strikers on the pitch and got caught at the end."

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