Portugal 2 - Mexico 2: Euro 2016 winners stunned by late equaliser in Confederations Cup

A dramatic injury-time equaliser by Hector Moreno earned Mexico a point against Portugal in a controversial match at the Confederations Cup.


All eyes were on Cristiano Ronaldo after the Real Madrid superstar reportedly told the club he was ready to quit after being accused of tax evasion.

At the start of the match a minute’s silence was held in memory of those who had lost their lives in forest fires in Portugal.

Once the match got underway, Mexico dominated possession without really troubling Portugal keeper Rui Patricio.

The game's first controversial moment came in the 20th minute when a free-kick by Ronaldo hit the wall and when the rebound came back to him, his left-footed volley beat Guillermo Ochoa in the Mexico goal but struck the crossbar.

The ball was then lifted back into the box and eventually found defender Pepe, who's strike crept in at the far post.

But referee Nestor Pitana reviewed Portugal's goal and the video assistant referee (VAR) ruled it out for offside.

Ochoa was then forced to make a smart stop to prevent Carlos Salcedo scoring an own goal.

However, Portugal finally went in front in the 33rd minute when Ronaldo broke down the left and then squared the ball to Ricardo Quaresma, who rounded Ochoa and slotted the ball into an empty net.

But Mexico hit back just before half-time when Portugal left-back Raphael Guerreiro failed to clear at the back post and Carlos Vela's ball into the box was met by a diving header from Javier Hernandez.

Portugal was sharper in the final half an hour and got a goal from Cedric in the 86th minute:

Cedric's goal looked to have been the breakthrough Portugal needed, but Mexico did not cave in. Going forward and with numbers, Mexico won a corner and made the reigning Euro champions pay with a lovely header off the post and into the back of the net by Roma newboy Moreno.

With that, the result now gives both of the teams one point, a fair result. Russia leads Group A with three, while New Zealand has zero.
This was a match either could have won, but Mexico will be more pleased with the result than Portugal will be. Still lots of work left for either to do, with two winnable matches left in the group stage for each.