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The Portuguese midfielder saved the day for Portugal with a injury-time winning goal in their World Cup qualifying match against Ireland, following Caoimhín Kelleher had denied a penalty from the veteran forward.

Match Summary

The Wolves midfielder headed home during injury time to snatch a 1-0 triumph, several seasons after the star striker had bagged a brace at the death to defeat a resilient Irish side.

The Irish squad appeared poised to depart the Portuguese capital with a well-earned draw, but ultimately suffered defeat, despite restoring a significant amount of honor with a battling display that erased some of the memories of last month’s disappointing loss in Armenia.

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

Major Moments

• The Liverpool keeper looked to have secured Ireland a draw when he brilliantly saved Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his trailing leg after Francisco Trincão’s effort had hit an Irish defender’s hand.
• Neves saved Portugal in the first minute of added time when he directed a delivery from the wing past the Irish goalkeeper.

Additional Qualifying Results

Portugal’s Group

Hungary enhanced their chances of advancing by picking up their first win with a two-goal triumph over Armenia, moving above their opponents into the runner-up spot behind the group leaders in Group F. Daniel Lukacs provided his team the advantage in the first half and Zsombor Gruber secured the victory in late added time.

England’s Group

Serbia suffered a 1-0 defeat at home to the Albanian squad, with the result meaning the Three Lions can now seal their passage from Group K by beating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker netted the only goal for Albania with a neat volley in late added time.

Latvia struggles in their group persisted as they were forced to a 2-2 tie at home by the Andorran team. Ian Olivera scored for the visitors late on from time to earn them their initial draw of the qualifying campaign and extend Latvia’s winless run to five games.

Group E

Spain maintained their dominant Group E run with a 2-0 win over the Georgian side after goals from Jéremy Pino and Mikel Oyarzabal in Elche. The win extended the title holders’ perfect run in qualifying, having notched 11 goals in three matches without letting in a goal.

In spite of the absence of players such as Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams, and Rodri due to injuries, the Spanish squad demonstrated their dominance against a Georgia team that spent the majority of the game defending deep. Spain dominated the match with over eighty percent possession, and Georgia did not have one shot on target or create a clear chance, with only shot-stopper their keeper averting a heavy defeat.

Pino opened the scoring in the 24th minute from a expertly taken dead-ball move, and his compatriot secured the win in the 64th minute with a spectacular set-piece after the Georgian keeper had denied a Spanish player’s spot-kick.

Additional Results

• Turkey returned to winning ways with a 6-1 thrashing over the Bulgarian side to keep the pressure on Spain in their section. The Spanish club’s Arda Güler was among the scorers.
• Italy improved their hopes of at least reaching the qualifying playoffs with a 3-1 win away to the Estonian team, thanks to goals from a forward, another attacker, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

Gennaro Gattuso said: “We’re not thinking about the group leaders or Israel. We know what we have to do.”

Italy failed to qualify for the last two World Cups, twice falling short in the playoffs, and the feared backdoor route now looks their most likely chance after Norway’s 5-0 hammering over the Israeli side in Group I. Norway are leading on eighteen points from six games. The Italians have twelve points with a game in hand on their rivals and are three points ahead of their next opponents. Estonia remain fourth on three points. The group winners advance automatically for the tournament, with the runners-up going into the playoffs.

The Italian national team host Israel on Tuesday, where a win would secure the runner-up position and, while they can still mathematically overtake the group leaders on points, the Norwegians’ far superior goal ratio means a playoff spot likely awaits for the Italian squad.