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The Portuguese midfielder saved the day for the Portuguese side with a injury-time winning goal in their World Cup encounter against Ireland, following Caoimhín Kelleher had denied a spot-kick from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Match Overview

The Wolves midfielder nodded in during stoppage time to secure a narrow victory, four years after the star striker had scored twice at the death to defeat a stubborn Ireland team.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men appeared poised to leave Lisbon with a hard-fought draw, but ultimately left empty-handed, despite restoring a significant amount of pride with a gritty display that erased some of the memories of last month’s disappointing defeat in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the loss puts them staring down the barrel, with their first three qualifying group games having produced only a single point. They need to defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any chance of claiming a playoff place.

Key Incidents

• Kelleher looked to have earned Ireland a draw when he brilliantly kept out Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his trailing leg after a Portuguese player’s shot had struck Dara O’Shea’s arm.
• Neves came to his side’s rescue in the opening moments of stoppage time when he headed a delivery from the wing past Kelleher.

Other Group Outcomes

Portugal’s Group

The Hungarian team enhanced their chances of qualifying by picking up their initial victory with a two-goal triumph over the Armenian side, climbing above their rivals into second place behind the group leaders in the standings. A Hungarian forward gave Hungary the advantage in the opening period and a teammate made sure of the points in late stoppage time.

Group K

The Serbian national team suffered a narrow defeat at home to the Albanian squad, with the outcome meaning England can now seal their passage from Group K by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker netted the decisive strike for Albania with a neat shot in first-half added time.

The Latvian side difficulties in their group persisted as they were held to a two-all draw at home by the Andorran team. Ian Olivera found the net for the visitors late on from time to earn them their first point of the qualifiers and extend Latvia’s winless run to several matches.

Group E

The Spanish national team maintained their impressive Group E run with a comfortable win over the Georgian side after goals from Jéremy Pino and Mikel Oyarzabal in Elche. The win extended the title holders’ flawless record in the qualifiers, having notched eleven strikes in three games without letting in a goal.

In spite of the absence of players such as Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams, and Rodri due to fitness issues, Luis de la Fuente’s side showcased their dominance against a Georgia team that passed most of the match defending deep. Spain controlled the encounter 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 Giorgi Mamardashvili preventing a rout.

Pino broke the deadlock in the 24th minute from a expertly taken dead-ball routine, and Oyarzabal wrapped up the victory in the second period with a spectacular set-piece after Mamardashvili had denied Ferran Torres’s penalty.

Other Scores

• The Turkish national team bounced back with a 6-1 victory over Bulgaria to keep the pressure on the group leaders in Group E. The Spanish club’s a young talent was among the scorers.
• Italy boosted 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 Francesco Pio Esposito.

The Italian coach said: “Our focus isn’t on the group leaders or our next opponents. We know our responsibilities.”

The Azzurri missed out for the previous two global tournaments, on two occasions falling short in the playoffs, and the feared playoff path now looks their primary chance after the Norwegian team’s 5-0 hammering over Israel 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 a trio of points ahead of Israel. The Estonian squad stay in fourth place on three points. The top teams advance automatically for the World Cup, with the runners-up going into the qualifying stage.

Italy face Israel on Tuesday, where a win would cement second spot and, while they can still theoretically overtake the group leaders on points, the leaders’ much better goal difference means a qualifying place probably awaits for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.