Game Information

Date: Saturday, 17th June 2017

Kickoff Time: 16:00 BST

Venue: Krestovsky Stadium (Saint Petersburg)

Match Preview

The 2017 Confederations Cup will kick off in Russia on the 17th of June. The first match of the competition will see host nation Russia take on New Zealand at the Saint Petersburg Stadium. This tournament offers Russia the opportunity to prepare for next year’s FIFA World Cup finals on home soil as they welcome the OFC Nations Cup holders in Group A.

New Zealand are the underdogs in this game, victory for the All Whites would constitute their first-ever win in the competition. Difficult tasks lie ahead for both teams. Games against Mexico and Portugal will follow, thus making three points essential for both teams in this game.

Anthony Hudson, the of New Zealand said “I’m taking my team into this tournament wanting to do something significant, something New Zealand has never done, and that is win a game at the tournament.” Striker Chris Wood also said “it is going to be a really special occasion. This is what we do all the hard work for. This is why we play all of the hard games in the islands. We want to be here competing in these big competitions. The boys are raring to go and will be up for it.”

Russia will lock horns with the champions of Oceania and they will be looking to shake off their poor display at Euro 2016, the Russian new coach Stanislav Cherchesov has shocked a lot of people by omitting a number of veteran players like the Berezutski twin brothers Vasili and Aleksi alongside Artem Dzyuba Alan Dzagoev and Roman Neustadter. Their recent form gives a glimpse of hope as they are unbeaten in their last three games, one win and two draws.

New Zealand has a perfect opportunity to test their metals against some of the biggest teams in the world, something that don’t come their way in majority of the time. However, the team managed by English born coach Anthony Hudson was off-color in the recent friendlies, losing to Northern Ireland and Belarus by 1-0 margin.

Moreover, the Whites have a poor history at the Confederations Cup after failing to register a win in their previous three appearances. They lost 8 of their 9 games in the competition so far and managed to score just 2 goals. They should not be counted out still as they are the champions of their continent.

Current Forms

Russia

(Draw) Russia 1 – 1 Chile

(Win) Hungary 0 – 3 Russia

(Draw) Russia 3 – 3 Belgium

(Lose) Russia 0 – 2 Cote d’ivoire

(Lose) Russia 0 – 3 Wales

Russia Team News

Stanislav Cherchesov named the strongest squad possible. There are no injury concerns and he is expected to name his best eleven to start the competition with a win. We are likely to see a 3-5-2 formation or the 5-3-2 set-up deployed in the friendly against Chile.

Russia Predicted Line-up (3-5-2)

Goalkeeper: Akinfeev

Defenders: Kudryashov, Vasin, Shishkin

Midfielders: Kombarov, Glushakov, Golovin, Gazinsky, Samedov

Forwards: Smolov, Poloz

New Zealand

(Lose) Belarus 1 – 0 New Zealand

(Lose) Northern Ireland 1 -0 New Zealand

(Win) New Zealand 2 – 0 Fiji

(Lose) Fiji 2 – 0 New Zealand

(Draw) New Caledonia 0 – 0 New Zealand

New Zealand Team News

The big absence in the New Zealand squad is the West Ham defender, Winston Reid, who will miss the tournament with an injury. This left Hudson with a back-four short on experience. The team also is short of quality in other departments of the field, with most of the responsibility depending on the Leeds United striker, Chris Wood. The 25-year old is actually very promising after having a fine season in which he scored 27 goals from 44 Championship games. However, the player to match is Melbourne Victory play-maker Marco Rojas, who has some tricks in his feet.

New Zealand Predicted Line-up (3-5-1-1)

Goalkeepers: Marinovic

Defenders: Smith, Durante, Boxall

Midfielders: Doyle, Lewis, Thomas, McGlinchey, Colvey

Forwards: Rojas, Wood

Russia vs New Zealand: Head-To-Head

This is the first time two sides are meeting in all competitions.

Betting Odds

Russia's tipped to start the competition on a positive note. The bookies are offering just 2/7 (1.29) that Cherchesov’s team kick off their campaign with a win, with 4/1 (5.0) that the match ends in stalemate. As such, New Zealand men are considered in many people’s opinion to be ranked outsiders ahead of their participation in this tournament and there is a 10/1 (11.0) that New Zealand will defy the doubters by getting the better of the host nation when these two teams lock horns and there is just 4/5 (1.80) that Hudson’s team will draw another blank against Cherchesov’s side.