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The Portuguese midfielder saved the day for the Portuguese side with a injury-time winner in their World Cup match against Ireland, after Caoimhín Kelleher had denied a penalty from the veteran forward.

Game Summary

The Wolves midfielder headed home during added time to secure a slender win, several seasons after the star striker had scored twice at the death to overcome a resilient Ireland team.

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

However, the defeat puts them staring down the barrel, with their first three qualifying group matches having yielded only a solitary point. They must beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any chance of claiming a playoff spot.

Key Moments

• Kelleher looked to have earned Ireland a point when he superbly saved Ronaldo’s penalty with his trailing leg 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 directed a delivery from the wing past Kelleher.

Additional Group Outcomes

Portugal’s Group

Hungary boosted their hopes of advancing by securing their first win with a two-goal victory over Armenia, moving above their opponents into second place behind the group leaders in the standings. Daniel Lukacs provided Hungary the lead in the opening period and Zsombor Gruber secured the victory in second-half added time.

England’s Group

The Serbian national team slipped to a narrow loss at home to Albania, with the outcome 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 well-taken volley in late stoppage time.

Latvia struggles in their group persisted as they were forced to a 2-2 tie at home by Andorra. An Andorran player found the net for the visitors 12 minutes from time to claim them their initial draw of the qualifying campaign and extend Latvia’s poor form to five games.

Spain’s Group

Spain continued their dominant Group E campaign with a 2-0 victory over the Georgian side after strikes from a Spanish attacker and Mikel Oyarzabal in the match venue. The win extended the title holders’ flawless run in qualifying, having notched 11 goals in three games without conceding.

Despite the absence of players such as Lamine Yamal, another forward, and Rodri due to injuries, the Spanish squad demonstrated their dominance against a Georgian team that spent the majority of the game defending deep. Spain dominated the encounter with over eighty percent of the ball, and Georgia did not have a single attempt on target or generate a scoring opportunity, with only goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili averting a heavy defeat.

The scorer opened the scoring in the 24th minute from a expertly taken set-piece move, and his compatriot secured the victory in the second period with a stunning free kick after the Georgian keeper had saved Ferran Torres’s penalty.

Additional Results

• The Turkish national team returned to winning ways with a comprehensive victory over the Bulgarian side to keep the pressure on the group leaders in Group E. The Spanish club’s a young talent was among the goal-getters.
• Italy improved their prospects of at least reaching the knockout stage with a comfortable win away to Estonia, thanks to strikes from Moise Kean, another attacker, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

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

Italy failed to qualify for the previous two global tournaments, on two occasions falling short in the qualifying rounds, and the dreaded backdoor route now appears their primary chance after Norway’s 5-0 win over the Israeli side in Group I. Norway are leading on eighteen points from six games. The Italians have twelve points with a match less played on their competitors and are a trio of points ahead of Israel. Estonia remain in fourth place on three points. The group winners advance automatically for the tournament, with the runners-up entering the qualifying stage.

The Italian national team host Israel on Tuesday, where a victory would secure the runner-up position and, while they can still mathematically catch the group leaders on points, the leaders’ much better goal ratio means a playoff spot likely beckons for the Italian squad.