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The Portuguese midfielder saved the day for Portugal with a last-gasp decisive strike in their World Cup qualifying match against Ireland, after Caoimhín Kelleher had denied a penalty from the veteran forward.

Match Summary

The Wolves midfielder nodded in during stoppage time to secure a narrow victory, four years after Ronaldo had bagged a brace late on to overcome a stubborn Ireland team.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men appeared poised to leave Lisbon with a well-earned draw, but in the end suffered defeat, despite restoring a good deal of pride with a gritty performance that erased some of the recollections of last month’s embarrassing defeat in Armenia.

However, the defeat puts them in a difficult position, with their initial trio of qualifying group games having produced only a solitary draw. They must beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any chance of securing a qualifying spot.

Key Moments

• Kelleher looked to have earned Ireland a draw when he superbly kept out Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his outstretched foot after a Portuguese player’s shot had struck Dara O’Shea’s arm.
• Neves saved Portugal in the opening moments of stoppage time when he headed a delivery from the wing past Kelleher.

Other Group Outcomes

Portugal’s Group

The Hungarian team boosted their chances of qualifying by picking up their initial victory with a two-goal victory over Armenia, moving above their opponents into second place behind Portugal in Group F. Daniel Lukacs provided Hungary the advantage in the first half and Zsombor Gruber made sure of the points in second-half added time.

Group K

The Serbian national team suffered a narrow loss at home to the Albanian squad, with the result meaning the Three Lions can now secure their qualification from Group K by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker netted the only goal for his team with a neat shot in first-half stoppage time.

The Latvian side struggles in Group K continued as they were held to a 2-2 draw at home by the Andorran team. An Andorran player scored for the away side late on from time to claim them their initial draw of the qualifiers and extend Latvia’s winless run to five games.

Group E

Spain continued their dominant Group E campaign with a comfortable victory over the Georgian side after goals from a Spanish attacker and his teammate in Elche. The result extended the European champions’ perfect record in qualifying, having scored eleven strikes in three games without conceding.

Despite the unavailability of key figures such as Lamine Yamal, another forward, and the midfield anchor due to injuries, the Spanish squad demonstrated their dominance against a Georgian team that spent the majority of the game sitting back. Spain controlled the encounter with over eighty percent of the ball, and the visitors did not have a single attempt on target or generate a clear chance, with only goalkeeper their keeper averting a rout.

The scorer broke the deadlock in the first half from a well-executed set-piece routine, and Oyarzabal wrapped up the victory in the second period with a stunning set-piece after the Georgian keeper had denied a Spanish player’s spot-kick.

Additional Results

• Turkey returned to winning ways with a comprehensive victory over the Bulgarian side to stay close to the group leaders in their section. The Spanish club’s Arda Güler 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 Estonia, thanks to strikes from a forward, another attacker, and a third scorer.

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

Italy missed out for the previous two World Cups, on two occasions falling short in the qualifying rounds, and the dreaded playoff path now looks their most likely opportunity after the Norwegian team’s comprehensive win over the Israeli side in their qualifying group. The Norwegians are leading on 18 points from six games. Italy have twelve points with a match less played on their rivals and are a trio of points clear of Israel. The Estonian squad stay in fourth place on three points. The group winners qualify directly for the World Cup, with the second-placed sides going into the qualifying stage.

The Italian national team host Israel on Tuesday, where a victory would secure second spot and, while they can still theoretically overtake the group leaders on the table, the leaders’ much better goal ratio means a qualifying place probably beckons for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.