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The Portuguese midfielder came to the rescue for Portugal with a dramatic winning goal in their World Cup match against the Republic of Ireland, following Caoimhín Kelleher had saved a spot-kick from the veteran forward.

Match Overview

The Wolves midfielder headed home during injury time to claim a 1-0 win, several seasons after Ronaldo had bagged a brace at the death to overcome a resilient Irish side.

The Irish squad appeared poised to leave Lisbon with a well-earned point, but in the end suffered defeat, despite restoring a good deal of pride with a battling display that overshadowed some of the recollections of last month’s embarrassing defeat in Armenia.

However, the loss puts them staring down the barrel, with their initial trio of qualifying group matches having yielded only a single point. They must beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any chance of securing a playoff place.

Major Moments

• Kelleher seemed to have secured Ireland a point when he brilliantly kept out Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his outstretched foot after a Portuguese player’s effort had hit an Irish defender’s hand.
• Neves came to his side’s rescue in the opening moments of added time when he headed Trincão’s cross past the Irish goalkeeper.

Other Group Outcomes

Portugal’s Group

The Hungarian team boosted their hopes of qualifying by securing their first win with a two-goal triumph over Armenia, climbing above their opponents into second place behind Portugal in the standings. A Hungarian forward provided his team the advantage in the first half and Zsombor Gruber made sure of the points in late added time.

Group K

The Serbian national team suffered a 1-0 loss at home to the Albanian squad, with the result meaning the Three Lions can now seal their passage from Group K by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker scored the decisive strike for Albania with a well-taken shot in first-half stoppage time.

Latvia struggles in Group K continued as they were forced to a 2-2 tie at home by Andorra. Ian Olivera scored for the away side 12 minutes from time to earn them their first point of the qualifiers and prolong Latvia’s winless run to five games.

Spain’s Group

The Spanish national team maintained their impressive Group E run with a 2-0 win over Georgia after strikes from Jéremy Pino and his teammate in the match venue. The result continued the title holders’ perfect run in qualifying, having notched eleven strikes in three games without letting in a goal.

In spite of the absence of players such as a talented winger, another forward, and the midfield anchor due to injuries, the Spanish squad demonstrated their superiority against a Georgian team that spent most of the match sitting back. Spain dominated the encounter with over eighty percent of the ball, and Georgia did not have a single attempt on target or create a clear chance, with only shot-stopper Giorgi Mamardashvili preventing a rout.

Pino opened the scoring in the first half from a well-executed dead-ball move, and his compatriot secured the victory in the 64th minute with a stunning free kick after Mamardashvili had saved a Spanish player’s penalty.

Other Scores

• Turkey returned to winning ways with a 6-1 victory over Bulgaria to stay close to the group leaders in their section. The Spanish club’s a young talent was among the goal-getters.
• The Italian squad improved their hopes of at least reaching the knockout stage with a 3-1 victory away to the Estonian team, thanks to goals from a forward, another attacker, and a third scorer.

The Italian coach commented: “Our focus isn’t on Norway or our next opponents. We are aware of what we have to do.”

Italy missed out for the last two World Cups, twice falling short in the playoffs, and the feared playoff path now looks their primary opportunity after the Norwegian team’s comprehensive hammering over the Israeli side in Group I. Norway are leading on eighteen points from six games. Italy have 12 points with a match less played on their competitors and are a trio of points clear of Israel. The Estonian squad stay fourth on three points. The top teams advance automatically for the World Cup, with the second-placed sides going into the playoffs.

Italy host Israel on Tuesday, where a win would secure the runner-up position and, while they can still mathematically catch the group leaders on points, the Norwegians’ much better goal difference means a qualifying place likely awaits for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.