Russia kicked off their Confederations Cup campaign with a
commanding 2-0 win over New Zealand in St Petersburg, in front of the watching
President Vladimir Putin.
The hosts controlled the encounter with Fedor Smolov the
star of the show.
Russia took the lead just after the half hour mark, through
a Michael Boxall own goal.
Dennis Glushakov had rounded the keeper and looked set to
score. But Boxall got in the way and the ball bounced off him into the net.
Smolov, who plays for Krasnodar, was a thorn in the New
Zealand side throughout and got on the scoresheet to make it 2-0 and cap a fine
performance.
By Ifreke Inyang
