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The Portuguese midfielder came to the rescue for the Portuguese side with a dramatic decisive strike in their World Cup encounter against Ireland, following Caoimhín Kelleher had saved a spot-kick from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Match Overview

The Wolves midfielder found the net during injury time to claim a slender victory, four years after the star striker had bagged a brace late on to defeat a stubborn Irish side.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men appeared poised to leave Lisbon with a hard-fought draw, but ultimately left empty-handed, despite restoring a good deal of pride with a battling display that overshadowed some of the memories of last month’s disappointing defeat in Armenia.

However, the defeat puts them facing elimination, with their initial trio of Group F games having yielded only a single point. They need to defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any chance of claiming a qualifying spot.

Major Moments

• Kelleher looked to have earned Ireland a point when he brilliantly saved Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his outstretched foot after a Portuguese player’s shot had hit Dara O’Shea’s hand.
• Neves came to his side’s rescue in the first minute of added time when he directed Trincão’s cross past Kelleher.

Other Qualifying Outcomes

Portugal’s Group

Hungary enhanced their hopes of qualifying by securing their initial victory with a two-goal triumph over Armenia, climbing above their rivals into second place behind the group leaders in the standings. A Hungarian forward gave his team the lead in the first half and Zsombor Gruber secured the points in second-half stoppage time.

England’s Group

The Serbian national team slipped to a narrow defeat at home to the Albanian squad, with the result meaning the Three Lions can now seal their qualification from Group K by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker scored the only goal for Albania with a well-taken shot in late stoppage time.

The Latvian side struggles in Group K persisted as they were forced to a 2-2 draw at home by the Andorran team. Ian Olivera found the net for the visitors 12 minutes from time to earn them their initial draw of the qualifying campaign and extend Latvia’s poor form to several matches.

Spain’s Group

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 the match venue. The win extended the European champions’ flawless record in qualifying, having scored eleven strikes in three matches without letting in a goal.

Despite the unavailability of key figures such as Lamine Yamal, another forward, and Rodri due to injuries, the Spanish squad demonstrated their superiority against a Georgian team that passed most of the match defending deep. Spain dominated the encounter with more than 80% of the ball, and Georgia did not have a single attempt on target or generate a scoring opportunity, with only goalkeeper their keeper averting a rout.

Pino opened the scoring in the first half from a expertly taken dead-ball move, and Oyarzabal wrapped up the victory in the 64th minute with a stunning free kick after Mamardashvili had denied a Spanish player’s penalty.

Other Results

• The Turkish national team returned to winning ways with a comprehensive victory over Bulgaria to keep the pressure on Spain in their section. The Spanish club’s Arda Güler was one of the goal-getters.
• Italy boosted their prospects of at least reaching the knockout stage with a comfortable win away to Estonia, thanks to strikes from a forward, Mateo Retegui, and a third scorer.

The Italian coach said: “Our focus isn’t on the group leaders or Israel. We are aware of what we have to do.”

The Azzurri failed to qualify for the last two World Cups, twice missing out in the qualifying rounds, and the feared playoff path now looks their primary opportunity after the Norwegian team’s comprehensive hammering over Israel in their qualifying group. The Norwegians are top on eighteen points from six matches. Italy have 12 points with a game in hand on their competitors and are three points clear of Israel. Estonia stay fourth on three points. The top teams qualify directly for the World Cup, with the runners-up entering the playoffs.

Italy face Israel on Tuesday, where a victory would cement second spot and, while they can still theoretically overtake the group leaders on points, the Norwegians’ far superior goal ratio means a qualifying place likely awaits for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.