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The Portuguese midfielder was the hero for the Portuguese side with a last-gasp decisive strike in their World Cup clash against the Republic of Ireland, after Caoimhín Kelleher had kept out a spot-kick from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Match Summary

The Wolves midfielder nodded in during injury time to claim a 1-0 victory, several seasons after Ronaldo had bagged a brace at the death to overcome a resilient Ireland team.

The Irish squad looked set to depart the Portuguese capital with a hard-fought draw, but ultimately left empty-handed, despite regaining a significant amount of pride with a gritty display that erased some of the recollections of last month’s embarrassing loss in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the defeat leaves them in a difficult position, with their first three Group F matches having yielded only a single draw. They must defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any chance of securing a qualifying place.

Key Moments

• The Liverpool keeper looked to have secured Ireland a point when he brilliantly saved Ronaldo’s penalty with his outstretched foot after Francisco Trincão’s effort had struck Dara O’Shea’s arm.
• Neves saved Portugal in the opening moments of added time when he headed a delivery from the wing past Kelleher.

Other Qualifying Outcomes

Group F

The Hungarian team boosted their hopes of qualifying by picking up their initial victory with a 2-0 triumph over the Armenian side, climbing above their rivals into the runner-up spot behind the group leaders in the standings. A Hungarian forward gave his team the advantage in the opening period and a teammate secured the points in late added time.

England’s Group

Serbia slipped to a 1-0 loss at home to Albania, with the result meaning the Three Lions can now secure their passage from their qualifying group by beating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj scored the decisive strike for Albania with a neat shot in late added time.

Latvia struggles in Group K persisted as they were held to a two-all draw at home by the Andorran team. An Andorran player scored for the away side 12 minutes from time to claim them their first point of the qualifying campaign and extend Latvia’s poor form to five games.

Group E

Spain maintained their dominant Group E campaign with a 2-0 victory over the Georgian side after strikes from a Spanish attacker and Mikel Oyarzabal in Elche. The win continued the title holders’ perfect record in the qualifiers, having scored 11 goals in three games without letting in a goal.

In spite of the absence 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 Georgia team that spent most of the match 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 generate a scoring opportunity, with only shot-stopper their keeper preventing a heavy defeat.

The scorer opened the scoring in the 24th minute from a expertly taken set-piece move, and Oyarzabal secured the victory in the 64th minute with a spectacular set-piece after the Georgian keeper had saved Ferran Torres’s penalty.

Other Results

• The Turkish national team bounced back with a 6-1 victory over the Bulgarian side to keep the pressure on the group leaders in Group E. Real Madrid’s a young talent was one of the scorers.
• The Italian squad boosted their prospects of at least making the qualifying playoffs with a comfortable victory away to Estonia, thanks to goals from Moise Kean, Mateo Retegui, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

The Italian coach said: “Our focus isn’t on Norway or Israel. We are aware of our responsibilities.”

Italy missed out for the previous two World Cups, on two occasions missing out in the qualifying rounds, and the dreaded backdoor route now appears their primary opportunity after Norway’s 5-0 win over the Israeli side in their qualifying group. Norway are top on 18 points from six games. The Italians have twelve points with a game in hand on their rivals and are three points ahead of Israel. Estonia remain fourth on three points. The group winners qualify directly for the tournament, with the second-placed sides entering the qualifying stage.

Italy host their rivals on Tuesday, where a victory would cement second spot and, while they can still theoretically overtake Norway on the table, the Norwegians’ far superior goal difference means a qualifying place probably awaits for the Italian squad.