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The Portuguese midfielder was the hero for Portugal with a injury-time decisive strike in their World Cup match against Ireland, after Caoimhín Kelleher had saved a spot-kick from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Game Summary

The Wolves midfielder headed home during injury time to secure a narrow victory, several seasons after Ronaldo had bagged a brace at the death to overcome a stubborn Ireland team.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men appeared poised to depart the Portuguese capital with a hard-fought point, but ultimately left empty-handed, despite regaining a good deal of pride with a gritty performance that erased some of the memories of last month’s embarrassing loss in Armenia.

However, the loss leaves them staring down the barrel, with their initial trio of Group F games having yielded only a solitary point. They must defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any hope of securing a playoff place.

Key Moments

• The Liverpool keeper looked to have earned Ireland a draw when he superbly kept out Ronaldo’s penalty with his trailing leg after Francisco Trincão’s shot had struck an Irish defender’s arm.
• Neves saved Portugal in the opening moments of added time when he directed a delivery from the wing past Kelleher.

Other Qualifying Results

Portugal’s Group

The Hungarian team boosted their chances of qualifying by picking up their first win with a two-goal triumph over Armenia, climbing above their rivals into the runner-up spot behind Portugal in Group F. A Hungarian forward gave his team the lead in the opening period and Zsombor Gruber secured the points in second-half stoppage time.

England’s Group

Serbia suffered a 1-0 defeat at home to the Albanian squad, with the result meaning England can now seal their passage from Group K by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker netted the decisive strike for his team with a neat shot in late stoppage time.

The Latvian side struggles in their group continued as they were held to a 2-2 draw at home by the Andorran team. Ian Olivera found the net for the away side 12 minutes from time to earn them their initial draw of the qualifiers and extend Latvia’s poor form to several matches.

Spain’s Group

The Spanish national team continued their dominant Group E run with a 2-0 victory over the Georgian side after goals from Jéremy Pino and his teammate in Elche. The win continued the European champions’ perfect record in qualifying, having scored 11 goals in three games without conceding.

Despite the unavailability of players such as Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams, and Rodri due to injuries, the Spanish squad showcased their superiority against a Georgia team that passed the majority of the game sitting back. The home side dominated the encounter with more than 80% of the ball, and the visitors 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 dead-ball routine, 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 spot-kick.

Other Results

• The Turkish national team returned to winning ways with a comprehensive thrashing over the Bulgarian side to keep the pressure on the group leaders in Group E. Real Madrid’s Arda Güler was one of the goal-getters.
• Italy boosted their prospects of at least making the knockout stage with a 3-1 victory away to the Estonian team, thanks to goals from Moise Kean, another attacker, and a third scorer.

The Italian coach commented: “Our focus isn’t on the group leaders or Israel. We are aware of what we have to do.”

Italy missed out for the previous two global tournaments, on two occasions falling short in the playoffs, and the dreaded backdoor route now appears their most likely opportunity after Norway’s 5-0 win over the Israeli side in Group I. Norway are leading on 18 points from six games. Italy have twelve points with a game in hand on their competitors and are three points ahead of their next opponents. Estonia remain fourth on three points. The group winners advance automatically for the tournament, with the runners-up going into the playoffs.

The Italian national team face their rivals on Tuesday, where a win would secure the runner-up position and, while they can still mathematically catch Norway on points, the leaders’ much better goal ratio means a qualifying place likely awaits for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.