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The Portuguese midfielder saved the day for Portugal with a dramatic winner in their World Cup qualifying clash against Ireland, after Caoimhín Kelleher had kept out a spot-kick from the veteran forward.

Game Summary

The Wolves midfielder headed home during stoppage time to snatch a slender victory, several seasons after the star striker had bagged a brace at the death to overcome a stubborn Irish side.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men appeared poised to depart the Portuguese capital with a hard-fought point, but ultimately suffered defeat, despite restoring a good deal of honor with a gritty performance that overshadowed some of the recollections of last month’s disappointing defeat in Armenia.

However, the defeat leaves them in a difficult position, with their first three qualifying group games having produced only a single point. They need to defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any chance of claiming a qualifying place.

Major Incidents

• The Liverpool keeper seemed to have secured Ireland a point when he brilliantly saved Ronaldo’s penalty with his outstretched foot after Francisco Trincão’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 headed a delivery from the wing past the Irish goalkeeper.

Other Qualifying Results

Group F

The Hungarian team enhanced their chances of qualifying by picking up their first win with a 2-0 victory over the Armenian side, moving above their rivals into the runner-up spot behind the group leaders in the standings. A Hungarian forward provided Hungary the advantage in the first half and a teammate made sure of the victory in second-half stoppage time.

Group K

The Serbian national team suffered a 1-0 loss at home to Albania, with the result meaning England can now secure their qualification from Group K by beating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker scored the only goal for his team with a well-taken shot in late added time.

The Latvian side difficulties in their group persisted as they were forced to a 2-2 draw at home by the Andorran team. Ian Olivera scored for the visitors late on from time to earn them their first point of the qualifying campaign and extend Latvia’s poor form to five games.

Group E

The Spanish national team maintained their dominant Group E run with a 2-0 win over Georgia after goals from Jéremy Pino and his teammate in Elche. The result continued the European champions’ perfect record in the qualifiers, having notched 11 goals in three matches without conceding.

In spite of the absence of players such as Lamine Yamal, another forward, and Rodri due to fitness issues, the Spanish squad demonstrated their superiority against a Georgia team that spent the majority of the game sitting back. Spain dominated the encounter with over eighty percent possession, and the visitors did not have a single attempt on target or create a clear chance, with only goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili preventing a rout.

Pino opened the scoring in the first half from a expertly taken set-piece move, and his compatriot wrapped up the win in the 64th minute with a spectacular free kick after the Georgian keeper had denied Ferran Torres’s penalty.

Additional Scores

• The Turkish national team bounced back with a comprehensive victory over the Bulgarian side to stay close to Spain in their section. The Spanish club’s Arda Güler was among the scorers.
• The Italian squad boosted their prospects of at least reaching the knockout stage with a 3-1 victory away to Estonia, thanks to strikes from a forward, Mateo Retegui, and a third scorer.

Gennaro Gattuso commented: “We’re not thinking about the group leaders or Israel. We know our responsibilities.”

The Azzurri failed to qualify for the last two global tournaments, on two occasions falling short in the qualifying rounds, and the dreaded backdoor route now looks their primary chance after Norway’s comprehensive hammering over Israel in Group I. The Norwegians are leading on eighteen points from six matches. Italy have twelve points with a match less played on their competitors and are three points ahead of Israel. Estonia remain fourth on three points. The group winners advance automatically for the World Cup, with the runners-up going into 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 mathematically catch Norway on the table, the Norwegians’ much better goal ratio means a playoff spot likely awaits for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.