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The Portuguese midfielder was the hero for Portugal with a dramatic decisive strike in their World Cup qualifying match against the Republic of Ireland, following Caoimhín Kelleher had saved a penalty from the veteran forward.

Game Summary

The Wolves midfielder headed home during injury time to snatch a narrow triumph, four years after the star striker had bagged a brace late on to defeat a resilient Irish side.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men looked set to depart the Portuguese capital with a hard-fought point, but in the end left empty-handed, despite regaining a significant amount of honor with a gritty display that erased some of the recollections of last month’s embarrassing loss in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the defeat puts them facing elimination, with their first three qualifying group games having yielded only a solitary draw. They must defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any hope of claiming a qualifying spot.

Major Moments

• Kelleher seemed to have earned Ireland a draw when he superbly kept out Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his trailing leg after Francisco Trincão’s effort had struck Dara O’Shea’s hand.
• Neves saved Portugal in the opening moments of added time when he directed Trincão’s cross past the Irish goalkeeper.

Other Group Results

Portugal’s Group

The Hungarian team enhanced their hopes of qualifying by picking up their first win with a two-goal victory over Armenia, moving above their opponents into the runner-up spot behind Portugal in the standings. A Hungarian forward provided Hungary the advantage in the opening period and a teammate made sure of the victory in second-half stoppage time.

Group K

The Serbian national team suffered a narrow loss at home to the Albanian squad, with the result meaning the Three Lions can now seal their passage from their qualifying group by beating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj netted the only goal for his team with a neat volley in late stoppage time.

Latvia difficulties in Group K continued as they were held to a two-all draw at home by Andorra. Ian Olivera scored for the visitors late on from time to claim them their first point of the qualifying campaign and extend Latvia’s poor form to several matches.

Group E

The Spanish national team continued their impressive Group E campaign with a 2-0 victory over the Georgian side after goals from a Spanish attacker and Mikel Oyarzabal in Elche. The win extended the European champions’ flawless record in qualifying, having scored 11 goals in three matches without conceding.

Despite the absence of key figures such as Lamine Yamal, another forward, and the midfield anchor due to injuries, Luis de la Fuente’s side demonstrated their superiority against a Georgian team that passed the majority of the game sitting back. Spain controlled the encounter with more than 80% of the ball, and Georgia did not have a single attempt on target or create a clear chance, with only shot-stopper Giorgi Mamardashvili averting a heavy defeat.

The scorer broke the deadlock in the 24th minute from a well-executed dead-ball routine, and Oyarzabal secured the win in the second period with a spectacular free kick after Mamardashvili had saved Ferran Torres’s penalty.

Additional Scores

• Turkey bounced back with a comprehensive thrashing over Bulgaria to stay close to Spain in Group E. Real Madrid’s a young talent was one of the scorers.
• The Italian squad boosted their prospects of at least making the qualifying playoffs with a 3-1 win away to Estonia, thanks to strikes from a forward, Mateo Retegui, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

The Italian coach commented: “We’re not thinking about the group leaders or our next opponents. We are aware of what we have to do.”

Italy missed out for the previous two World Cups, on two occasions missing out in the playoffs, and the dreaded playoff path now looks their most likely opportunity after Norway’s comprehensive win over Israel in Group I. The Norwegians are top on 18 points from six matches. Italy have twelve points with a match less played on their rivals and are a trio of points ahead of their next opponents. Estonia remain fourth on three points. The top teams qualify directly for the tournament, with the second-placed sides entering the qualifying stage.

The Italian national team face Israel on Tuesday, where a win would secure the runner-up position and, while they can still theoretically catch the group leaders on points, the Norwegians’ much better goal ratio means a qualifying place probably beckons for the Italian squad.