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The Portuguese midfielder came to the rescue for Portugal with a injury-time winning goal in their World Cup match against Ireland, following Caoimhín Kelleher had denied a penalty from the veteran forward.

Game Overview

The Wolves midfielder nodded in during injury time to snatch a 1-0 triumph, several seasons after Ronaldo had scored twice late on to overcome a resilient Ireland team.

The Irish squad looked set to leave Lisbon with a hard-fought point, but in the end suffered defeat, despite restoring a significant amount of pride with a gritty performance that erased some of the recollections of last month’s embarrassing loss in Armenia.

However, the defeat puts them staring down the barrel, with their first three qualifying group games having produced only a solitary draw. They need to defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any hope of securing a qualifying spot.

Key Incidents

• The Liverpool keeper seemed to have earned Ireland a point when he superbly kept out Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his trailing leg after Francisco Trincão’s effort had struck Dara O’Shea’s arm.
• Neves came to his side’s rescue in the opening moments of added time when he directed Trincão’s cross past Kelleher.

Other Qualifying Results

Group F

Hungary boosted their hopes of advancing by securing their first win with a two-goal victory over the Armenian side, moving above their opponents into second place behind Portugal in the standings. A Hungarian forward gave his team the advantage in the first half and a teammate secured the victory in second-half stoppage time.

Group K

Serbia suffered a 1-0 defeat at home to Albania, with the result meaning England can now seal their passage from their qualifying group by beating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker scored the only goal for Albania with a neat shot in first-half stoppage time.

Latvia difficulties in Group K persisted as they were held to a two-all draw at home by the Andorran team. Ian Olivera scored for the away side late on from time to earn them their first point of the qualifying campaign and extend Latvia’s poor form to several matches.

Group E

Spain continued their impressive Group E campaign with a comfortable victory over the Georgian side after strikes from Jéremy Pino and his teammate in Elche. The result continued the title holders’ flawless record in qualifying, having notched 11 goals in three games without letting in a goal.

Despite the unavailability of players such as a talented winger, Nico Williams, and the midfield anchor due to injuries, the Spanish squad demonstrated their dominance against a Georgia team that passed most of the match defending deep. The home side controlled the match with more than 80% of the ball, and Georgia did not have a single attempt on target or create a scoring opportunity, with only goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili preventing a heavy defeat.

The scorer broke the deadlock in the 24th minute from a well-executed set-piece routine, and his compatriot wrapped up the victory in the 64th minute with a spectacular set-piece after the Georgian keeper had saved a Spanish player’s penalty.

Additional Scores

• The Turkish national team bounced back with a comprehensive thrashing over Bulgaria to keep the pressure on the group leaders in their section. The Spanish club’s Arda Güler was among the goal-getters.
• The Italian squad improved their prospects of at least making the knockout stage with a comfortable victory away to Estonia, thanks to strikes from a forward, another attacker, and a third scorer.

The Italian coach said: “We’re not thinking about the group leaders or Israel. We are aware of our responsibilities.”

The Azzurri failed to qualify for the previous two global tournaments, on two occasions falling short in the qualifying rounds, and the feared playoff path now looks their primary opportunity after Norway’s comprehensive win over the Israeli side in Group I. The Norwegians are top on eighteen points from six matches. Italy have 12 points with a match less played on their rivals and are three points clear of their next opponents. Estonia remain fourth on three points. The top teams qualify directly for the tournament, with the second-placed sides entering the qualifying stage.

Italy face their rivals on Tuesday, where a win would secure the runner-up position and, while they can still mathematically catch Norway on the table, the Norwegians’ far superior goal ratio means a qualifying place probably awaits for the Italian squad.