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The Portuguese midfielder came to the rescue for Portugal with a injury-time winner in their World Cup qualifying match against Ireland, after Caoimhín Kelleher had kept out a spot-kick from the veteran forward.

Game Summary

The Wolves midfielder found the net during added time to secure a slender victory, several seasons after the star striker had bagged a brace late on to overcome a stubborn Ireland team.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men looked set to leave Lisbon with a hard-fought point, but in the end left empty-handed, despite regaining a good deal of pride with a gritty performance that erased some of the recollections of last month’s embarrassing loss in Armenia.

However, the defeat leaves them in a difficult position, with their initial trio of qualifying group matches having yielded only a solitary draw. They need to defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any hope of claiming a qualifying place.

Major Moments

• Kelleher seemed to have earned Ireland a draw when he superbly kept out Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his outstretched foot after Francisco Trincão’s shot had struck Dara O’Shea’s arm.
• Neves saved Portugal in the first minute of added time when he headed a delivery from the wing past Kelleher.

Other Group Outcomes

Portugal’s Group

Hungary enhanced their hopes of advancing by securing their initial victory with a two-goal victory over the Armenian side, moving above their opponents into the runner-up spot behind the group leaders in the standings. Daniel Lukacs provided his team the lead in the first half and Zsombor Gruber made sure of the points in second-half added time.

Group K

Serbia suffered a 1-0 loss at home to Albania, with the result meaning England can now seal their qualification from Group K by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj netted the decisive strike for his team with a neat volley in first-half stoppage time.

The Latvian side struggles in their group persisted as they were held to a two-all draw at home by the Andorran team. An Andorran player scored for the visitors late on from time to claim them their initial draw of the qualifying campaign and prolong Latvia’s winless run to five games.

Group E

The Spanish national team continued their dominant qualifying group campaign with a comfortable victory over the Georgian side after goals from Jéremy Pino and his teammate in the match venue. The result extended the European champions’ flawless record in the qualifiers, having notched 11 goals in three games without letting in a goal.

Despite the unavailability of players such as a talented winger, Nico Williams, and Rodri due to injuries, Luis de la Fuente’s side showcased their dominance against a Georgian team that passed the majority of the game sitting back. The home side dominated the encounter with more than 80% possession, and the visitors did not have one shot on target or create a clear chance, with only goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili averting a heavy defeat.

Pino opened the scoring in the 24th minute from a expertly taken dead-ball move, and Oyarzabal secured the victory in the 64th minute with a stunning free kick after the Georgian keeper had saved Ferran Torres’s penalty.

Additional Scores

• The Turkish national team bounced back with a 6-1 victory over Bulgaria to stay close to Spain in Group E. The Spanish club’s a young talent was one of the scorers.
• The Italian squad improved their hopes of at least making the knockout stage with a 3-1 win away to the Estonian team, thanks to strikes from Moise Kean, Mateo Retegui, and a third scorer.

The Italian coach commented: “We’re not thinking about the group leaders or Israel. We are aware of our responsibilities.”

Italy failed to qualify for the previous two global tournaments, on two occasions falling short in the qualifying rounds, and the feared playoff path now looks their most likely chance after Norway’s comprehensive hammering over the Israeli side in their qualifying group. Norway are leading on 18 points from six matches. Italy have twelve points with a game in hand on their competitors and are three points clear of their next opponents. Estonia remain in fourth place on three points. The group winners advance automatically for the World Cup, with the runners-up going into the qualifying stage.

Italy host their rivals on Tuesday, where a win would secure the runner-up position and, while they can still mathematically catch the group leaders on the table, the Norwegians’ much better goal ratio means a qualifying place likely beckons for the Italian squad.