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The Portuguese midfielder came to the rescue for Portugal with a last-gasp decisive strike in their World Cup qualifying encounter against Ireland, following Caoimhín Kelleher had denied a spot-kick from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Match Summary

The Wolves midfielder found the net during added time to secure a slender win, several seasons after Ronaldo had bagged a brace late on to overcome a resilient Ireland team.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men appeared poised to depart the Portuguese capital with a hard-fought draw, but in the end left empty-handed, despite restoring a significant amount of pride with a gritty performance that overshadowed some of the memories of last month’s disappointing defeat in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the defeat puts them in a difficult position, with their initial trio of qualifying group games having yielded only a single point. They need to defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any hope of securing a playoff spot.

Key Incidents

• The Liverpool keeper seemed to have earned Ireland a point when he brilliantly kept out Ronaldo’s penalty with his trailing leg after Francisco Trincão’s shot had struck an Irish defender’s arm.
• Neves came to his side’s rescue in the first minute of stoppage time when he headed a delivery from the wing past Kelleher.

Other Group Outcomes

Group F

Hungary boosted their chances of advancing by picking up their first win with a 2-0 victory over the Armenian side, climbing above their opponents into second place behind the group leaders in the standings. Daniel Lukacs gave his team the lead in the opening period and a teammate secured the victory in second-half added time.

England’s Group

The Serbian national team suffered a 1-0 defeat at home to Albania, with the result meaning the Three Lions can now secure their qualification from their qualifying group by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj scored the only goal for his team with a well-taken shot in first-half stoppage time.

The Latvian side difficulties in Group K continued as they were held to a 2-2 draw at home by Andorra. An Andorran player scored for the away side 12 minutes from time to earn them their first point of the qualifying campaign and prolong Latvia’s winless run to several matches.

Spain’s Group

The Spanish national team maintained their dominant qualifying group campaign with a 2-0 victory over Georgia after goals from Jéremy Pino and his teammate in Elche. The result extended the title holders’ flawless record in qualifying, having scored 11 goals in three matches without conceding.

In spite of the unavailability of key figures such as a talented winger, Nico Williams, and the midfield anchor due to fitness issues, Luis de la Fuente’s side demonstrated their dominance against a Georgian team that passed the majority of the game defending deep. The home side dominated the match with over eighty percent of the ball, and the visitors did not have one shot on target or generate a clear chance, with only shot-stopper their keeper averting a heavy defeat.

Pino opened the scoring in the first half from a expertly taken dead-ball routine, and Oyarzabal secured the win in the 64th minute with a stunning free kick after Mamardashvili had saved Ferran Torres’s spot-kick.

Other Scores

• Turkey returned to winning ways with a comprehensive thrashing over Bulgaria to keep the pressure on Spain in their section. Real Madrid’s Arda Güler was one of the goal-getters.
• Italy boosted their prospects of at least reaching the knockout stage with a 3-1 victory away to Estonia, thanks to goals from a forward, another attacker, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

The Italian coach said: “Our focus isn’t on the group leaders or our next opponents. We know what we have to do.”

The Azzurri failed to qualify for the previous two World Cups, on two occasions missing out in the qualifying rounds, and the feared backdoor route now looks their primary opportunity after Norway’s 5-0 hammering over Israel in Group I. Norway are top 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 their next opponents. The Estonian squad stay fourth on three points. The top teams qualify directly for the tournament, with the second-placed sides going into the qualifying stage.

The Italian national team face Israel on Tuesday, where a victory would cement second spot and, while they can still theoretically overtake Norway on the table, the leaders’ far superior goal ratio means a qualifying place probably awaits for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.