Watch New Zealand Vs. Portugal Confederations Cup Match Live Stream: Start Time, Preview Of Group Stage Finale

The world’s best player, Cristiano Ronaldo, may sit out his country’s final group stage game, even though Portugal must earn all three points to guarantee advancement to the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup semifinals when they face New Zealand on Saturday. The match will live stream from Russia with New Zealand simply trying to grab their first victory in 12 Confederations Cup games — over four tournaments.

The All-Whites netted a goal in their 2-1 defeat to Mexico on Wednesday — their first score in 555 minutes of Confederations Cup play. While they squandered chances for at least one or two more, New Zealand’s determined and relentless attack should be enough at least to give Portugal some cause to think in Saturday’s matchup.

To find out how to watch a live stream of the New Zealand vs. Portugal match, see the streaming information at the bottom of this article. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. Moscow Standard Time at Krestovsky Stadium in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Saturday, June 24. In the United Kingdom, that start time will be 4 p.m. British Summer Time, while in the United States the live stream gets underway at 11 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time/8 a.m. Pacific. In New Zealand, fans will need to set heir alarms to watch the All-Whites attempt to bow out of the Confederations Cup on a high note. Start time in New Zealand Standard Time will be 3 a.m. the following day, Sunday, June 25.

New Zealand received at least a ray of hope with the news on Friday that Portugal Manager Fernando Santos may hold Ronaldo out of the game, resting the world’s highest-paid athlete for the semifinals of the eight-team tournament.

Watch a preview of the New Zealand vs. Portugal clash in the video below.

Ronaldo’s absence would leave a significant hole in Portugal’s attack, with the superstar on a binge of 15 goals in his last nine games for both his Spanish La Liga team Real Madrid and the Portugal national team. Saturday’s match will mark the first time that New Zealand and Portugal’s national sides have ever faced each other.

A draw or a loss for Portugal in Saturday’s match would mean that if Russia can upset Mexico in their Saturday Group A game, the host Russians would advance and the Euro 2016 winners would go home.

Can the scrappy New Zealand All-Whites build on their aggressive and impressive performance in a 2-1 loss to Mexico, pulling off a shocking upset over the European Champions in their final 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup Group A match? Or will 2016 European Championship winners Portugal manage to hand New Zealand there 12th straight Confederations Cup defeat and nail down their place in this year’s semifinals of the World Cup prelude tournament? To find out, watch the New Zealand vs. Portugal FIFA Confederations Cup Group B match live stream from 68,000-seat Krestovsky Stadium in Saint Petersburg, Russia, with streaming video provided by Fox Sports Go at this link or by downloading the Fox Sports Go app to watch on tablet computers and smartphones.

Fox Sports Go also streams live on the Amazon Fire TV and Roku set-top streaming devices, allowing fans to watch the New Zealand vs. Portugal Confederations Cup Match stream live on their TV sets.

Confederations Cup fans without cable login credentials can watch the 2017 New Zealand-Portugal clash stream legally and for free on Sling TV by signing up for a seven-day free trial of the Sling “Blue” or “Orange” plans. Both include Fox Sports One, which carries the Group A match live from Saint Petersburg. The Sling TV plans can be accessed at this link.

Fans in the United Kingdom who want to watch a live stream of the New Zealand vs. Portugal FIFA Confederations Cup Group A match can view the game using ITV Hub at this link or use the ITV Hub app, which is available on Amazon Fire TV, Google Chromecast, and several other smart TV sets and devices in Great Britain. The New Zealand Sky Sports channel will also carry the Portugal showdown from Russia, via a live stream available at this link.

[Featured Image By Francois Nel/Getty Images]